Show WHAT OF R I 1 AMNESTY 1 opinion of leading lawyers as to its legal effect TUB THE SIGHT TO VOTE vot given by amnesty only a presidential pardon does not affect suffrage frage SALT LAKE CITY utah N nov 0 V 1 1892 to the editor of the Ir herald erald you ask us its to ans aisner er the follow in I 1 questions I 1 can the president of the united states y yeanling granting 0 amnesty restore the right to vote or hold office to persons diser franchised disfranchised dis anelli sed by the edmunds law 0 2 would polygamists receiving amnesty from the president of the U united n cited states have the right to coli cohabit abit with their jhc thc ir plural wives wires 3 what would be tile ef effect elect lect of amnesty if hinted granted rin ted to tie the first question wo ire answer no the qualifications of voters and eligibility to hold office are deter determined 11 by act of congress and cannot be changed hy by the president tile the Edin edmunds law provides that 10 polygamist bigamist I 1 or any ally person lerson cohabiting 0 with more inore that than 1 one mo woman shall be en titled ditled to vote at any illy I 1 election or 31 be cli eligible ible for election or ali appointment 1 ointment to or bo be entitled to hold any ollice or place of public trust ii honor C nor or emolument 1 I 1 complied laws of utah 1 the edmunds tucker law provides that no person who shall have auy amy crima tin or that act or under the edmunds law or who shall bo be polygamist or who shall associate or cohabit with persons of tile the other box shall be entitled to vote ju iu any ally election in said territory or be capable of jury service 0 or r to hold any office of trust or emolument in said territory 1 comp laws of utah p 1 the supreme court of the united states in tho the c case aso of murphy vs Rain scy has benned denned a or bi bigamist 0 adist as follows in ili our opinion any nian man is a polygamist or biga bigamist inist in the sense of this section of the act who having ieving previously married one wife still living and having r another at the time he be presents himself to claim registration as a voter still maintains that relation to a plurality of wives although 0 front from the date of the passage of the act of march 22 1882 until the day lie he others kofl ars to register and to vote lin hn may not in fact have cohabited with more than one woman lie ile mi might lit in fact abstain front from actual cohabitation with all and lie still as much as ever a bigar bigamist or poly polygamist adist ile he can call only cea e to be such when he has ba finally and fully full dissolved in sonic some co active manner which we are not called upon hero here to point out chouery relation of husband to several which constitutes tile forbidden status lie lias has previously as assumed it I 1 it ell murphy vs ramsey U S pp ap c s1 sa 1 42 from the foregoing it will lie be seen that 0 ba o lot long I 1 as a man has more than one wife lie maintains the status of a polygamist anil is not a qualified oter nor eligible to hold office hether bother lie colia bits with liis his plural mural wives or not arid and this tatus hiatus cannot lie changed by amnesty we answer the second question in the nema negative tive cohabitation with wom more than one woman is an all offense a against ainest the law and tile president of the united states cannot authorize a violation of law by ani amnesty nesty or otherwise in ili answer to tile third question we ire say that amnesty would lie be in effect a pardon for past violations of jaw lav it iiii might T lit relieve its recipients front from criminal prosecution but it could not restore any civil or political i i splits aits A P I 1 L WILLIAMS LEA RAND YOM F S A T S IS WILI WILLIAM JAIr II 11 KING JAMES II 11 11 P r c J W V |