Show ANOTHER ONE A Bill to Lay Low Polygamy and Polygamists The following bill defining the crime of polygamy and providing for the punishment thereof has been introduced in the council branch of the Idaho Legislature by Hon E P Johnson Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly As-sembly of the Territory of Idaho as follows SECTION IIf any person or per within this Territory being married or who shall hereafter marry do at any time marry any person or persons per-sons the former husband or wife being alive or any person who shall within this Territory cohabit with recognise and maintain the marital relation with any woman whether under the name of celestial marriage mar-riage plural marriage or by any I other name or designation such I person having at the time a wife or husband living the person so offending offend-ing shall on conviction thereof be punished by a fine not exceeding 5000 and by an imprisonment not leEs than one year nor more than ten years Upon the trial of any person for the violation of any of the provisions of this section it shall not be necessary to prove any marriage mar-riage by record evidence but the same may be proved by the acts and admissions of any of the parties to such marriage marital relation cohabitation co-habitation celestial marriage or plural marriage j and any party to iuJh marriage marital relation cohabitation co-habitation celestial marriage or plural plu-ral marriage shall be a competent witness upon such trial And when such marriage shall have taken place without this territorycohab itation in this territory after such second marriage shall be deemed the commission of the crime of polygamy Nothing herein contained con-tained shall extend to any person or persons whose husband or wife shall have been continually absent ab-sent from such person or persons for the period of five years together I prior to such second marriage and he or she not knowing such hus I band or wife to be living within that time Not herein contained shall extend to any person who is or shall be at the time of the second marriage divorced by lawful authority from the bond of such former marriage or to any person when the former marriage of such person has been by lawful authority declared void SEC 2That if any male person within this territory hereafter cohabits co-habits with more than one woman he shall be deemed guilty of a felony ana on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars andy and-y imprisonment for not more than i five years SEC 3That counts for any or all I of the offences named in section one and two of this Act may be joined in the same indictment Sec 4Upon the trial of any person per-son for violation of any of the provisions of this act it shall be sufficient cause of challenge to any person drawn or summoned asa as-a juryman or talesman FirstThat he is or has been living liv-ing in the practice of bigamy polygamy or unlawful cohabitation with more than one woman or that he has been guilty of an offence punishable by either of the foregoing forego-ing sections or Second That he believes it right for a man to have more than one living and undivorced wife at the same time or to live in the practice of cohabiting with more than one woman And any person appearing appear-ing or offered as a juror or talesman and challenged on either of the foregoing fore-going grounds may be questioned on his oath as to the existence of anv such cause of challenge and other evidence may be introduced bearing upon the question raised by such challenge and this question shall be tried by the court But as to the first ground of challenge before mentioned the person challenged shall not be bound to answer If he shall say upon his oath that he declines on the ground that his answer may tend to criminate himself and if he shall answer as to said first ground his answer shall not be given in evidence in any criminal prosecution against him for any offense named in sections one and two of this act SEC 5 Section 127 of the act entitled an act concerning crimes and punishments approved January Janu-ary 14 1876 is hereby repealed SEC 6This act to be in force from and after its approval by the governor |