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Show POLYGAMY. To iVoU-at .g.iiust Us Abolition is Why Two Thousand. Women Crowded the Theatre Yesterday. And They Did Protest With Woman's Earnestness. WORmON" LADIES position OH THE VEXED QUESTION. They Are Capable of Representing Represent-ing Theinselvea. And Respectfully Decline the Sympathy of Their Gentile Sisters. A Mass Mnatmg That Was a Meeting Meet-ing ol the Masses. The ladies' ruasj medio? at the theatre, yedttrdiy afternoon, to pretest pre-test against the action of the Wdies at t ie anti-polygamy meeting, held recent'y at the Congregational church, was very numerously at tended. Tho parqueue, parquette circle, and firet aud second circles were crowded with women, of whom there must bate been nearly 2,000 present. With the exception of reporters, re-porters, there were to be no gentlemen gentle-men present and in the auditorium the rule was strictly observed, but in the rsar part, some few gentlemen, gentle-men, still Gentiles, gained ad mission and heard the proceedings throughout. On the stage were seated the prominent agitators of the movement, move-ment, the choir and the reporters. Of the latter there were a great many, representing, it is chimed, a number of the leading journals of the country, coun-try, besides the reporters of the local press. Promptly at 2 o'clock the meeting wag called to order by Mrs. Zina D. Young, and on motion ol Mrs. . B. W1U, Miss Eliza R. Snow was elected chairman chair-man of the meeting. Mrs. Sarah M, Kimball was chosen secretary, with Mre. Augusta J. Crocheron assistant. The choir then sang and no opening prayer was cfJertd by Mrs. Jrriacinda Kimball. After singing sing-ing again, the meeting was formally opened and Miss 8uow, the chairman, chair-man, rose and stated the object of the assemblage. She Baid: Ai saints of the living God we have been driven from place to place until we located in tbeee mountains. We have been misrepresented from year to year, but now claim the privilege of representing ourselves. As we are loyal American citizens we claim the right of protection in the free exercise ot our religion, for a love of which we came and located here. Inasmuch as we, the veritable women of Utah, who came here when tb soil belonged to ibe government of Mexico, and have assisted wilb our labors and prayers, and have suffered and borno the hardships hard-ships of pioneer lives, to reclaim this i-oil, rendering it habitable aud beau-tilul, beau-tilul, and buildioc up comfortable homes for those afterwards to enjoy inasmuch as we have undergone all this, we feel that we have a right, and should maiutain it, to believe as we please, and listen to tho voice of God wbea he speaks, keeping his commandments ft? delivered unto us. We hold that this pnvit ege is ours by the constitution, that noble instrument, bequeathed to us by our forefathers, through them drawn up by the inspiration of God the Bame wno had raided a prophet, gathered the people from the nations of the earth, and bad established a government on principles of peace, purity and rigbteousnens . And as one ot the principles revealed by God bas been assailed, we feel it our right to express ourselves in regard to this matter as becomes women who believe in it. Before the practice of this principle bad com menced, wo sustained cruel wrongs, were driven from our homes, our prophet was Uken from us and not one ot those who thus persecuted us bas ever been punished. I believe polygamy is as sacred as any principle princi-ple God has ever revealed and given to the human family. If we had a congress composed of polygamous poly-gamous men, true to their wives, it would be a higher honor to the nation, and they would better perform their duties, than a congress of monogamous mono-gamous and irreliable husbands. Virtue is the foundation ol prosperity, and the principle of plural marriage tends to honor, and virtue, and those who would represent the loyal women of Utah as degraded, are either trying to bring evil on ub, or tbey know not what they are doing. Although I deprecate the false and odious representations repre-sentations uf our social standing, and the vilification of our characters, J view with commiseration those who, dwelling in our midst, bave banded together to work up a crusade calculated calcu-lated to subvert aud destroy the moat sacred relations between man and woman; to soparate man and wives; to make bastards of children aud trample on the most sacred aOeclions of the human heart. It seems as il tbey desired to measure arms with the Almighty. I bave no revenge in my heart againet these persons; they aro in the baud of God, but I leel it a duty that wo thculd plead our own cause, and it ib for tbii purpose that we have come together. The following address was then read by Mrs. B. W. Smith: It is Eomewhat EurprialCf? tht vt, vh aro ili-i Into rBitresoolauvus ol tl j worun of Uluht liiivifjf in c mncolion, with our husband?, nssis I'd in redeeming I ho sconce du?ort valley, shc-u'd be calkd to assemble assem-ble vindicMQ ourselves Hg-wrut mis reprp?enlnlion? niido by our Chrislin bisters, tru eu who hvo nrrived bore at so lntt! a datoai d for to ditl'.-ront an o1-jret- "We were drivon from our fumes to ieek refute tomewhora elsfl, for llio to'limony ol Jprus and the word of God ,'flicy know why they aro hero Wo i-aiue becMiiso wo lovd Grd and tho principles oi f igh'-cotisnei-a, "c uatini: hII lliii frs a-dn s. for i he excellency ' 1' th" kn-wloJpa of Uid," who h-d revualnd himi-U'fin our dny; li'ipii g thm fr awy t'c ra a pro&setd Jb r ialtunHy wo niiyhl livo in p aco nd worship him who fid po Ivgh y fnvorol ft' d livo in ncoord-ance ncoord-ance wiih thuse principled wh'ch a'ono It-nd to endless livis3. Ai a !r l ciiizn "t' this grvat republic, I enter my mot furvent protect rgainst lliii unlawful uud unhallowed uiUinde founded on n.isrepresentHiions. Co - ress has no rght to iiiturfortf wi'li our mo,i sacred religion. As we.l m frht that honirnbl-j I dy IfRiilato npaintt Dfl)tiEmi hy imroeraion p(,'ftin?t plurality of wives. God has revealtd lho'6 principles prin-ciples and they must be tutUimd. With our own free consent ou- hushft .dl tako m re wive?, and wln n (hiidron crown our joy, around our sacred family Bltara wo bow tho kno and supplicate our heavenly f,ilhor'fl bleEairg on our household, house-hold, Hiid i o co in lus Qiviiio f.iv r a lifriinjMto wivos willi hurornbe cliil-flien. cliil-flien. Wu npird ur huands us men oflrun virluu and int'fjrily, who Hike up n lli'-niaclvos o grout a re-pouiibjlity in honoring .tho laws of God, and we boar thom up in our faith tind fecrot prayer?. L'!l our sistvrs in llm United bibles know ihis, ni d iiuioid ot" soekinj' spocUl hiilaionto in fcir jto upon our libertij:, lui ihvm rather tnko tho lio-or-ablo pari iv;id protect us in our riffh'.s, aud tnu3.mako for thouselvoi a n. B.or iojord. An impromptu address was then delivered by Mrs. Zina D. Young, in which she expressed ber feelings regarding re-garding the m ilter under oouuidt-rA-tion, recapitulating the exodus of llie "Mormons" from their early homes. I was the wife and daughter of leap from the window of tne Carthage jail, p;erced with bullets, uttering a wail of anguish that has never been heeded, save by the liviug God. (Tliis. was directed to the reporters seated on the stand.) Here followed a written address ad-dress by Mrs Hannah T. Kinn, afier wbich Mrs. hi. T, Smoot made a brief speech. Auother address was read, by Dr. Roumama B. Pratt. The following preamble and resolutions resolu-tions wero then read by Miss Annie Wells, and unanimously adopted: PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTION'S. Whereas, We, women of iho church of I Jesus Lhnst of Latter-day Sainia have baen misjudged and misropresonted to the nation, by those in our nndt of our own sex, in lopard to our most sacrnd rights ilia r gbti whkh portam to the huiv rolaiii'rii of wif.h"od and mo hgr-h.iod, hgr-h.iod, we do hereby earnestly, tolumnlv ond eraphaticdl y declare our true eetiti-monts eetiti-monts and invito a thorougb and impartial impar-tial inveetisiU:oa i f cur cause. Thero-foro, Thero-foro, Resolve it That we, w mon of tho Church of Jesus Christ of La'.tor-duy aints, and loyal Americin citizen i, claim ilia i iif ht guaranteed by the cou-slitulion cou-slitulion that, "OVi gro-s tlmll m-ke no law respecting an establishment of religion re-ligion or prubibiliog the fr.-o fxercieo thereof," a riln win. h wa soi-k to oxer -ciso, not to Iho injury of others, but within with-in tho pale of peace and justie, of lil'p, liberty and pursuil of happiness according accord-ing to the d;ctHlsof our own consciences MesoLved. That wn nmtl o,;n.i iu enactment of any laws which doprivo American cilizmis, whether male or female, of any constitutional rights; ani that we make a uni:ad elfjrt io secure the UDanimom voice of the women of our fiiih to plead tho passage of the sixteenth six-teenth amendment durmg U19 coming session of congress. lifwlvcd, 1 lit wo solemnly avow our boluf in Iho doctrino of tlio patriarchal ordor i t" marriage, a doctrine which was revcalod to and practiced by God's p?o-p'e p?o-p'e in pist ngs, and ii now r-esiab-l:lwd on llie oartti by ditine command of him who is the aameyeslerday, to-day ai.d lbrov-r; a doctrine which, if lived up to and carried out under iho diro tiu of the precepts psrUining to it, and of the bigh-r principles of our nature, would conduce to iho lo g life, strength and glory of tho people practising it; and we theref jre end re it as one of the most itupjrtant principles of our holy religion, relig-ion, and claim the right of its practice. Resolved, That we-do truly appneiato th elfurts and labors of tho "noble tidies of the Wa'ional Woman's utTrago association, asso-ciation, who, though opposed in their f-o icgi to plural nmrrisgo and without sympathy for our rel'gn-us view;-, bravely .defended the caue ol woman's rights in Utah in tho halls of congre?, and wo take this publ c pp r unity of tendering thom an expression of our sincere and hear: i '-I- tuauk. Resolved, That tho women of Utah memorialize cot gr, setting forth thwir grievances, and that they tako Fuch o nyr jusunaoie sLepi as may be necessary neces-sary to dt-fend themselves against the ruthless and violent assault iuw boirg mado upon ihcir sacred and constitutional constitu-tional rights. Mrs. WoodruQ then arose and mado an extemporaneous address. Sbe thanked the ludies who had taken so active a stand against polygamy, for their goud intentions, but desired i'p be let alone. This was followed by arecilaiion by Mrs. Silver. The next speaker was Mrs. E. B. Wells, She said she nevtr wjuld bave thought that women would rise up against womeu. Though she cherished no ill-leeliog toward those who ec greatly interested themselves against this principle of the Mormon faith, they could rest assured that it would be diamond cut diamond. Yet every means would be used to pro mote peace and harmony. The Udy closed by saying that she thanked God there were some who were not afraid to publish a word favorable to the "poor, down-trodden women ol Utah." Tne choir was then about to biuz, when Mrs. Charlotte I. Godbe arose from one ot the boxes and proceeded to address the assembly, stating that, though not having been invited to spealc she Oeaired to represent herself. She said that the bad personally per-sonally interceded for tho "Mormon" "Mor-mon" women before Mrs. President Hayes and bad helped io promote thete interests wherever bus had bseu, and that though she had desired tu have Borne allegations made against her rectified, these eudeavors had never been successful. Xu the course of her remarks an elderly lady Mother Iiiley rose (rom her seat, and shaking her fist at tho epeaker, cried out very loudly, "liar!" A slight commotion was occasioned, the lady being quieted and Mre. Godbe I proceeded with her remark?, at the conclusion of which the choir sung, : benediction was prontiiinced by Mrs. I Howard, and the rneetiLL; adjourned. The best cf order prevailed througi:-1 out and the meetiujr was asucceis in every respect. We would have been pleased to have published the other addresses in full, all of which were very meritorious, but are obliged to luuva them out through a lack ol space. |