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Show OFFICIAL FOOLISH X ESS. A onsensletit Attempt to ft up pre S3 M or mo a iin-in iin-in igrn tion. New Y'ork, 9. Herald's Washington: Washing-ton: The Mormon question, like a great many other of our Bocial and political questions, baa risen to international inter-national importance. A letter, prepared pre-pared by the secretary of elate, pro testing against the conduct of the governments of Great Britain, Germany, Ger-many, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, Den-mark, ia continuing to allow their subjects to leave for the United States aa Mormon immigrants, waa read at the cabiuet meeting to-day, and copies will be Bent by to-night's mail to our diplomatic representatives representa-tives in those countries. The letter, it is understood, is an energetic presentation ol the views of the administration on the Mormon question, and a dotermiualion on its purl to make the institution of polygamy polyg-amy as odious as possible under existing exist-ing laws. It begins by setting forth that under our statutes bigamy ia a crime ia any of the territories of ihe United States, and that men or women destined for Utah go there with the intention and for the avowed purpose ol violating this law. The letter then recites that by the act of j July 1, 1802, every person having a I husband or wife living who marries another, whether married or eingle, in a territory or other place over which the United States have exclusive ex-clusive jurisdiction, is guilty of bigamy, big-amy, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than 500 and by imprisonment im-prisonment for a term of not more than five years, and that under this law, which has been declared by the United StateB Supreme Court upon a test case, George Reynolds, a citizen of Utah and a member ot the Mormon Mor-mon church, waa convicted of bigamy and ia now serving a sentence of two years in the Utah penitentiary; and further, that it is the purpose pur-pose of thiB government to prosecute every person in that territory against whom evidence can be obtained of violation of this law. Our ministers are instructed to lay a copy of the letter before tho government govern-ment to whioh they are accredited without delay, and to represent, in a most friendly manner, to those governments gov-ernments that it would therefore be 1 an act of justice toward their subjects if the latter could ba dissuaded from accepting the inducements held out by mercenary agents of the Mormon church to settle in Utah. Reference is then made to the existing ex-isting obligations on tbo parts of the governments of these countries not to allow persons to depart Irom these countries for tho United States who aro known to bavo a criminal intention inten-tion and further explaining that all who come to this country for the purpose of affiliating with the Mormon Mor-mon church do bo with the avowed intention of becoming criminals and eubjecting themselves lo penalties ol criminal laws. Therefore, the United States will consider it a friendly act on the part of the governments of these nations il they will also regard the matter in this light. Attention is called to the large number of women who are in duced to become emigrauta, and who therefore aid and abet the crime of bigamy, and to the principles of the Mormon church, which require plu-ralty plu-ralty of wives. Our miniaters are inBtructed to call upon our consuls in those countries without delay to assist them in gaining information as to the manner Id which the ranks of the Mormon church are recruited, and to forward information as speedily as possible to Washington. A member of the cabinet said tonight to-night that the administration did not now consider Mormon emigrants as any moro entitled to respect than so many persons who had been convicted of felony, and that the purpose of sending the letter is to caution the people of those countries where this clasB of emigrants is mostly made up, and to warn them what they may expect if they go to Utah. "If this Iriendly request of government govern-ment is disregarded, then," continued the cabinet oflicer, "we will be in a position where we can refuse them entrance into our ports and forbid vessels landing them. It is hardly possible our consuls will not be able to ascertain every attempt made to Bhip this class of people to tho United States, aud the administration adminis-tration recognizes the responsibility of the duty which the law imposes upon it to prevent lawless peoplo from landing on our territory." |