1) Offering more for the First Counselor than the President was definitely a not-so-subtle shot at John Taylor.

2) Cannon was incredibly important. He had been Utah's delegate to Congress, was a business leader in the community, and had been Brigham's right-hand man for several years prior to Brigham's death. Additionally, Cannon was definitely a powerful personality within the First Presidency and was often the public face of the presidency (similar to President Uchtdorf today; President Hinckley during his many years in the Presidency; and J. Reuben Clark during the 1930s and 1940s). On the other hand, although John Taylor was important as a religious leader and had served in a few civic roles (such as Territorial Superintendent of Schools), he didn't have anywhere near the same political cache outside of Utah as Cannon had. Offering more for Cannon was a statement about the estimation that outsiders had of Cannon, as well as a statement about just how much Cannon mattered to the Church in a religious role.