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Show Stringent Laws Against Polygamy Presbyterian General Assembly Ke-portff Ke-portff a Memorial Urging" Congress Con-gress to Act. BUFFALO. May 2-S. In the general assembly of the Presbyterian church In tho United States today to-day tho committee on bills and overtures reported a memorial to the United States Senato praying for the expulsion of Senator Reed Smoot and the enactment of moro stringent laws against polygamy. John I. Piatt, lay commissioner of Poughkeepsle, threw tho, assembly Into a temporary uproar by opposing the report. re-port. Ho held that It was a political question, which the aspembly had nothing noth-ing to do with. The vote was taken, hut five commissioners opposed tho adoption of the report. An overture was adopted requiring the Stato Legislature of Oregon to pass a law requiring the Lewis and Clark exposition to cIoh-s on Sunday. A recommendation objecting to the removal re-moval of tho liberty bell from Philadelphia Phila-delphia to St. Louis and Its exhibition on Sunday was carried unanimously. Drs. Moffat, Johnson and Coyle were appointed a committee to reply to a protest signed by Dr. John Fox of New York and six other members of the general assembly against the action ac-tion of the commltteo adopting the report re-port on churches The membership of the commltteo on church co-oneratlon and union has boen Increased from eight to fifteen. The new members aro Moderator Honry of Philadelphia, Dr. E. I. Patton of Princeton, President Moffat, Washington and Jefferspn college; col-lege; S. T'. Nichols, Washington; Prof. John Dewltt of Princeton seminary, L. H. Severance of Cleveland and IL C. Gara of Philadelphia. Tho report of the committee on Judicial Ju-dicial commissions provides for the establishment es-tablishment of a permanent tribunal, which shall be a supreme court for the general assembly, to which the assembly as-sembly may refer all cases Involving church law. The report of the temperance commission com-mission was on the programme today. It recommends total abstinence on the part of ministers and elders from tho use of Intoxicants, and tho use of their Influence on tho memberH of the congregations con-gregations to the sarrje end, and recommends recom-mends that ministers and those seeking seek-ing the ministry be advised against the use of tobacco. |