| Show OPINIONS OF THE PRESS since sided the t passage by the house of representatives senta benta tives of the bill to punish ana and prevent polygamy in the territories of the united I 1 states which being interpreted means utah I 1 exclusively many of C f the public journals have I 1 spoken out quite freely and plainly plain lyon on the subject 1 of the omnipotent power claimed by a I 1 majority odthe members of that body to legislate on religious and local matters and espe 1 suppress a biblical institution in a Teril territory tory because obnoxious to christians christiana ahoi claim to beso thoroughly enlightened thal that they abhor and detest the practices of the patriarchs prophets and holy men of old when at the same time they appropriate thousands of i dollars annually in cir culat ng ng 0 scriptures among 0 all the nations of the earth containing the record of the practices pt those ancient men who were in favor god the cleveland Plain dealer in an article published soon after the action of the house anthe bill in question said I 1 i 1 athe republicans in the house are at work at one of those twin relics relies polygamy try edg to abolish it in utah they propose to prescribe by act of congress Con gress grAss the number of wives a inan man shall have if jf congress has any such power it can as i well ivell make the number one two three or thirty or ft can enact that he shall have no wife at 0 al 0 if congress can legislate at all on this subject eject tits its powers of legislation g are unlimited elcans it ll cans canas well determine the number of children a llian lilan man shall have the number of servants the color of the same ac ac I 1 if congress can legislate on the domestic relations of people in the territories without I 1 consulting the wants and wishes of said people le tho iho the doctrines of the revolution and are like sounding brass and tin tinkling lin cymbals to all who are so anfor unfortunate t as to dive beyond the corporate limits of the states wha nonsense this is that a person acknowledged lk to be possessed possess sd of certain inalienable rights even under a state government overn ment by passing into a territory suddenly becomes un mali mait m aped ed an infant an idiot with no lights no power powen mr to act no business to think and no A wis wishes hies fies to be regarded this ibis is a pretty doctrine to be preached in a republican country and in this enlightened day if congress can put down poly polygamy amy as a fown gown religious domma dogma congress can put down aown kar kan ker ism quakerism method ISU ismor or any other ism not believed in by a majority ma arity of its pious members congress Krig riss ress can do no such thing it belongs to the people affected by these questions to regulate them the power to do CLO so 90 exists i somewhere Bome dome where and that power has no lod gement anywhere but with the people nt Th talais lais is the douglas doctrine of popular so sovereignty pefe lanty it is a safe alid and sensible doctrine and bound to prevail king george by divine right claimed the power to regulate tea for the colonies just as congress now by constitutional ti fight claims power to rule our territorial people but the gys 8 ti i 01 ia r i in ln their ragged regimental regimentals flung KIng georges tea as a S 1 i douglas and popular sovereignty are bound to 1 OM the same paper subsequently jn in reply to it some dolt doit who inne in the leader made some wo on the sentiments thus freely ex says the lithe mormons cormons Mor mons as a professed religious sect followed tha the practices of our bible fathers in regard to their wife system they quote I 1 bote ein KID king 11 solomon soloma the favored of dod god and nithe t e wisest vi sest of men with his beveri severt teven seven hundred sAnd three hundred concubines and ony only ons lament that in these degenerate r days they ih eMor mong fall BO so very far short of living t fully up to such a glorious example s q jk There la is quite a diffie difference rence between a ma Aho sho ho religion and a Maho army war var i ii 4 not religion and if a sect claim it as a 14 wiet their neighbors would probably embrace ot much ouch 0 of their faith practically at least ead rah oah ire irp ligion vh cn is compulsory or interferes inter eres W tri trl tha rights of others is unconstitutional abl jal e fremed y is s at a hand ert fit however 0 ver ab abhorrent korent lorent horent to the community in any pari part parade at the united states polygamy may be le twin relic each is a local local matter I 1 domestic institutions social avely llad hai bat i f E and morals are matters of of local rist exclusively atthe pathe great question stion ignot is not whether slavery skor orl polygamy 4 agreeable to t us in ohio or washington Vas hington whether ang anu congress gress has the keep ne states states Slates out otee ofee of the union and exercise for them ali all 11 legislative functions isoji at financial domestic religious and all we clip the following from the mobile weekly tribune of april Ce nobody so far as we have observed out alda sida aide of the mormon community itself advocates polygamy but in merely condemning polygamy one does not begin to reach reath the true ibyl I 1 that beset the problem Is 14 poly ga am myslm r ply a violation of christianity sub jec y to spiritual censure or is it so serious jj n gyi d do against the peace and welfare of as to brin bring it within the proper field of criminal legi legislation sladon it if a legally criminal ofee offe fence nce aja itis in 16 the united sta states t es except in utah its criminality is mere merely the effect of positive human legislation against it or ig is the human enactment only declaratory of a higher moral law if 1 the territorial enactments legalize it is the evil one of so monstrous a character as to call for the interposition of the united states government ern ment if congress interpose should it be on the ground of federal supremacy over territorial rit orial legislation under the constitution or should it be regarded as a case of strong moral necessity requiring extra constitutional remedies Is it possible that a state which i sanctions polygamy could ever be admitted I 1 I 1 into this confederacy without either destroy ing it or leading to perpetual discord ifton gress gross pass laws against polygamy will it ever 1 fress tress be e able atle to enforce them if f they can be en forced will the object be worth the cost of if the object must be accomplished at any cost what is the proper way to go to effect it such are a few of the many difficult questions that arise in considering this subject and we must say that the recent debates in congress gress have dot not done much towards a solution of them we have a thought or two of our own with regard to the matter but cannot pretend to clear away all the fog which envelopes it there is too much as well as in other cases to run into extremes it is very easy to say that pol poi polygamy agamy is is a foul blot a leprous taint 31 that it pollutes the earth that those who practise it ought git lit to be exterminated bynie and sword and all that sort of thing now for own part we believe it to be decidedly unchristian and a great evil but burve we are not sure that this as 9 a sufficient reason for resorting to 0 fire and sword to sweep it from the face of the earth or even for the adoption of any violent and extraordinary measures for its suppression we should even hesitate to denounce as in itself a leprous taint or a foul pollution an institution which was practised practiced without any recorded eviden evidence e of div divine ine lne disapproval by abraham jacob and other patriarchs of old who lived under a direct theocracy we have said that the peculiar institution i of the mormons cormons is unchristian and therefore we disapprove of it but we are not so sure that it is either cither right or expedient for our government to undertake to enforce anity further than the temporal welfare of society renders it necessary indeed we very yary much doubt the competency of our legislators to act upon spiritual questions there are other very gross violations of christianity perpetrated pet rated among us much greater violations perhaps than polygamy is which the laws cannot reach and which it would be unwise to ito attempt to reach teach in that way we have within a few years seen two christian powers making war upon another christian power in defence of a government that sanctions and sustains pol poi polygamy polygamy gamy our own government is itself at t this is very moment preparing to give a most flattering natt ering reception to the representatives of another polygamous people and striving to open a friendly intercourse with them the cases it is trueart true tru eare are not strictly parallel to that presented by the utah question which relates to a community within our own confederacy but there is enough of parallelism dr to render them very inconsistent with the intemperate views of mormonism to which we have alluded truth and error widely as they differ are alike in one respect they both thrive under persecution unless the perse persecution is strong enough and relentless elou enough h to crush them out entirely the growth OF of mormonism has proved a striking illustration of this thin it is already too strong to be crushed out by the iron heel of violence unless at an expense of blood and treasure which would never be ap proved by the people of this country to say nothing of the question of right and bind wrong it has thriven thus far under persecution we think it would be better to leave it for the future to the we silent and quiet influences of the truth and the christian ml missionary 83 on t ry 7 would it not be better for congress to severely let i alo aio atone alone I 1 e flate in ln a late number of the sacramento union I 1 we find we the fallo following V td 1 51 in pa passing i asing a law to punish polygamy 11 utah the house of representatives Representative i asserts assert the complete power of congress over all sub ejects of legislation in the territories if to tol all religious deeds is one of the cardl cardi nal principles in our form of gov government ern ment am if polygamy is a part of the religion of the thi logical conclusion would be that tha government cannot interfere with the tion the right of government to prohibit ih practice t ice coi cot conceding it to be a part of tho the re legious belief of that singular people only be exercised by making mormonism an exception to the general rule of toleration that character of legislation would have tc to be placed upon the absolute condition that thai toleration in religious faith and practice did no our Government include any branches of religious faith except those recognized as belonging to the great catholic and protestant branch of reli rell religious ious lous faith and worship the precedent for bueg such a construction may be fountin found in the political assumption that the right of self government was intended to include only the white man this ig is a exception and avert averl a very imp important 0 one to the general principle laid dowa down own t hat that men are capable of self seif gov ern ment yet it is found necessary to act upon it in reference to ag as well as africans it will not however be denied dented that majorities rule under our form of government and that no larcan law can be enforced against the sent senti jentof tb th elarge mass of a community hence a law against yin a community zihere it exists enacted by an outside power could only ie be enforced at the point of the bayonet or by courts and juries composed of men imported into a mormon community for that purpose ose the question is surrounded by serious difficulties difficulties which will probable be more complicated by any legislation 0 upon it by congress many other quotations from editorial edda effa equally as pertinent as the foregoing might be made showing conclusively that there are a goodly number in the editorial corps carpi who do not subscribe to the doctrine of congressional intervention in matters pertaining to religion nor interference with the local or domestic institutions of the people in the territories |
