Show THE AMNE STY QUESTION former polygamists may maybe be allowed to register and yote vote IF THEY ARE ABE NOW LAW ABIDING I 1 and have not violated the edmunds tucker law since the issuance of the manifesto tho the utah commission has been serious seriously Iv considering C the amnesty question for some time and just jus t a month ago a letter was written to the secretary of the interior asking for an ail opinion from the attorney general beneral aeto to the effee effect t of president 0 1 harrisons amnesty croci proclamation a in T ia 0 n upon the right of persons previously disqualified to register and vote in response to this the following telegram was received on albond monday av washington july 17 A B williams chairman utah commission salt lake utah under date of dinst the at torney 1 general beneral declined to render an ail 0 opinion anion on question present presented cd in in your your letter of alt having no authority to advise commissioners in the tha exercise of the duties of their office WM 11 II SIMS acting 0 secretary yesterday morning the question was brought by commissioner robertson who introduced a resolution which after being g amended to read as follows was unanimously adopted whereas a difference of opinion appe appears ars to exist as to the efficacy of the amnesty gra granted anted by ex 11 re si dent harrison to relieve sexual offenders in utah from prior disability to vote and whereas in ill the interest of elective govern government meritt that doubt ought to be solved in favor of the man therefore resolved that any person in the territory otherwise qualified to vote and who has ob stained from committing mittin any such quell sexual offense since november 1 1890 ought 0 in the opinion of the commission for the reason aforesaid to be permitted to re reister register t ister commissioners robertson williams and mcclarnand ernand attached to tho the resolutions the following stated state ment of their views upon the important matter july I 1 j 1800 0 while we voluntarily concur in the proposition to advise the reg registration is officers of the various election precincts that in the opinion of the commission they may and should permit former polygamists to register as voters if otherwise qualified upon their taking an oath or affirmation that they have not sin since ce the first day november 1890 been guilty of the practices forbidden by the lots acts of congress 6 known as the edmunds and ed munds tucker laws we desire to decord record that in our opinion SP speaking eak ing L strictly from a legal m standpoint al and id not as we might wish were its legal effect that the deprivation of the voting privilege is merely an electoral regulation fixing g the qualification of voters and not a penalty or punishment for crime or disobedience to the laws and therefore hereford he that the ain amnesty nesty proclamation cla clai mation nation of the president does not without further legislation restore the privilege of voting 0 to th so gethus thus dis franchised 0 As this is a question however upon which opinions differ even amon among those who command respect for legal acumen it beconi so much a question of doubt that we feel impelled to resolve the doubt in favor of those who suffer from the deprivation and therefore give our assent if an error of judgment 0 it is an error on the side of clemency is in accord with the spirit of the proclamation and as ar we believe in accord with the sentiment of the people of oft t he be territory terri tor as well as one which can more readily be defended than an error in the other direction R S ROBERTSON v A B WILLIAMS JOUN A MCCLEW mcclarnand ERNAND NAND after the session commissioners godfrey and lett stated staled that they voted for the resolutions mccaus 0 they believed it was the law |