Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: This is a red-letter day for Utah; this is the most glorious day of her history. The people who came here forty-seven years ago and made a settlement, acting with the avowed purpose, with the hope, with the desire, to grow in numbers, and by their energy and industry develop a people and a country worthy to take a place among the states of this great Republic, through all the years until now have worked and labored, endured hardships and privations, and we stand to-day with all the benefits of their toil, their energy, and their labor, as the great treasure we propose to unite to this Union of states.

Now, gentlemen, you have assembled for the purpose of making a Constitution for this new commonwealth. No greater trust, no greater responsibility, could be given you than the one entrusted to you by the confiding people of Utah. Your work, if well and wisely done, as I do not doubt but it will be, is not for to-day, it is not for to-morrow, but it is for years to come. It is not the laws that you make that can be changed with every recurring session of the

Legislature, or with every passing breath of public opinion, but you are to make the Organic Law, you are to lay down the fundamental principles that must guide and control the destinies of this new commonwealth for many years. Therefore, your deliberations should be, as I doubt not they will be, characterized by calm consideration, due deliberation, and an entire absence of passion or of feeling, having but one star as your guide, the good, the help, the prosperity, and the safety of the whole people of this great commonwealth. [Applause.]

Now, while the work that you are to do here to-day will be for the new State of Utah, as constitution makers, you do not plunge into an unexplored field or traverse a vast and barren and uninhabited wilderness. On the contrary, you come of a race of state creators and of constitution makers; you have as your pattern the noblest instrument that probably ever enlightened the world, the great Constitution of our fathers, the Constitution of the United States. [Applause.] You have complied with the law which requires that before you begin your deliberations, a solemn oath be administered to you by the Chief Justice of this Territory, to observe and support that Constitution; and the nearer you keep, in my judgment, to that instrument, and follow its enunciations of fundamental principles, the nearer you will come to the hearts of the people, and commend the new State of Utah to her associates. So you have that instrument; and not only that, but you have the experience and the work of constitution makers of all the other states that have gone before you, and with these lights it would seem that it would be impossible for you to make a Constitution other than a most excellent and admirable one. [Applause.]

Now, gentlemen of the Convention, I feel proud, and esteem it a high honor, to voice the sentiments of the people of Utah, and bid you a hearty and cordial welcome to the responsible and important duties that have been imposed upon you by Utah's great people. I am sure that the work that you do here will receive a cordial and a hearty approbation in the way of ratification by the people; and when that is done, there need be no fear that there can any obstacle interfere with the admission of Utah into this great Union. [Applause.] Before this time a year hence, there will be no prouder, greater commonwealth in this Union of states, than the youngest of the number, Utah. [Applause.]

• Governor West Address (introduced on 1895-03-04 12:00:00 - CREATE - e741264) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]
  • None (introduced on 1895-03-04 12:00:00 - NO_OBJECTION - e741265) [view current proposal at this moment]