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Show THE STATUTE OF LIMITA" " TIONS. Judge McKean, in advancing the extraordinary doctrine that the "criminal "crim-inal common law" of the United State? made polygamy a crime before the act of 1502 was passed, takes the position that he must refuse naturalization to those who, acting on their religious convictions, married two living wives before yet have married nont since. He has refused naturalization to men who are polygamis's, but whe have not become so since tuac act wa? passed. Be it remembered that the : alleged criminality is in the marrying, j not in the fu'ure relations of husband and wife, for we have no idea that Judge McKean asks a man who appears ap-pears before him to be naturalized, who is not a Mormou and does not le-r iievein polygamy, whether lie violates the sanctity of a mstrriago vow by yielding his person to the lustful embraces of prostitution. It is only with Mormons, so far as we can learn, that the ineuiisitorial investigation investi-gation is pursued. Now, were it possible for these men. to whom Judge McKean refused naturalization, nat-uralization, to have committed a crime against a law when no such law exist ci, there is such a thing as limitation in the time in which a person can be punished lor a crime committed. e presume Judge McKean is well acquainted ac-quainted with the fact, but that there" may be no mistake, we beg to state that it is iu the United States Statues, Vol. 2, page 99. By Sec. 31, of the criminal act of 17'JO, found on the page specified, after the time is fixed within which an indictment shall be found for an offence of-fence committed, with the exceptions wilful murder and forgery it provides pro-vides : "Nor shall any person be prosecuted, prose-cuted, tried or punushal for any offence not capital, unless the indictment for the same shall be found within tico years from the time of committing the offence." Have we not got two years beyond 1SGJ yet ? The matter as it stands has this shape : Judge McKean basis hi "opinion," and the refusal consequent upon that "opinion," on a presumed crime against the common law when the United States have no criminal common law ; and he would hold a man amenable amen-able for an alleged offence, not cap--.i .i i ... um, agajni. iuc m-.v au luueunue length of time at lea-t nine years : when the statute of limitations expressly ex-pressly says an indictment must be ' found within two years. How like you the law, Judge, a; laid down in the books, compared with , that laid down by yourself ? |