Show A FEW THO THOUGHTS relating R i EL TO RIGHTS DUTIES AND comparisons 1 i I 1 BY T j i hav Having n ghere heretofore to fore seen stater statements bents to the elte effect et that congress contemplated repealing ther thel Organic acts of utah tta iland liand aud and montana montah and passing an ac act t relating to trials 1 1 brors and marriage or non noli ringe ringa in utah have been induced 6 0 o pe e ix a few sew lines iines relating to rights bights duties and comparisons which if you think worthy of bf a place in the NEWS you are at liberty to print prints my mye thoughts thou ats have flown back baek to the principles upon which governments are formed and as I 1 have derived profit from a frequent recurrence to those principles I 1 have indulged the hope that others might also be benefited by them the in rin tin tn referring to principles comparisons pari sons will naturally enough flow into the tho mind so in a few instances I 1 have drawn comparisons between the inhabitants of this territory and the early settlers of new 1 ew england occasionally re fering also to the early inhabitants of the other colonies relating to the foundation of governments and of laws I 1 have often asked myself Is there a god if so has he any right to interfere with the affairs of men ah aha ahad d if so whet right has he interfered in ter r er d and given laws icso if so where are they fund and what are they 7 must I 1 obey them ahem ir if known ta tome me I 1 know there are law lavi s of man and I 1 also aiso know kno w r mey toy fellow men demand of me that I 1 shall shail by all ali obey their laws by what right have I 1 consented to them have my ancestors consented to them and thus bound me or does this rest on some other principle than consent consena has any man or any class of men benj adiv a divine ifie leie right to govern me and the society in which I 1 dwell if so who is the man man or who constitute the class of men all an these and many more questions which may be asked are involved in the principles of civil and religious liberty I 1 though it is byno by no po means necessary to I 1 answer them all to enable us to understand the principles and foundation of the ther government of the united states tates and the principles and wid foundation of the government of utah ja J shall not hot therefore attempt to answer these questions in any other manner than to state a few facts I 1 and give a few of the views of the framers of the constitution and laws confining myself to principles and omitting emitting details in sixteen hundred and twenty the first settlement in new england was made at plymouth rock mity who had left their native country and come to the new now world to enjoy the giglitto rig nig litto worship wor shili shile god as their conscience a might m gl it dictate an their lai landing iding they b bowed ow ed gave thanks to god and consecrated themselves and their new hew country ati him this if f there be no god or iche if he haya hava no right to interfere with the affairs of men was a vain tain and de lusine thing but IY if there is a god and if he has a right to interfere with the r affairs lairs aff of men it was waa wasa walse Jud lelou and appropriate 6 ceremony ai this al all ali i must judge judge for themselves I 1 approve and commend the act over that country th there ere ero was at thab that tima timo an acknowledged right tight of great britain to the sovereignty thau though fityere there never before had bad existed the laws laws of civilized man nor ilor had there so bo far as then known to god the voice of praise and prayer yet there was one elementary principle one pil 11 lar one chief corner stone on which the entire american rests it bolf self which may way be included include 4 life lifo liberty the pursuit of happiness and the grigni to jo worship god according to the dic dictates tatia tatus of conscience abbreviated cfall and religious liberty exercising their rights under dilder this great first law the new england colo landing assumed the necessary powers of government byan yan agreement among themselves which continued about eight or nine years when ax a charter harter was givert by the king that authorized the whole body of the proprietors prie tors to assemble in person and make raws laws not repugnant to the laws af pf england for the government pursuant to the tho authority conferred con ferreo by this charter thatter which inday may be considered assail assali as sanctioning the night right of odthe the tho colonists before assumed the male inhabitants for more than fourteen fouteen years assembled in person and enacted laws thus thug affording aubr ding an illustrious example of the principle that all just powers W ars emanate from the people this S was as purely a democratic government as any which has ever been established on this continent at early times charters were given confirming the right to make laws and the right of civil and religious liberty and establishing the right that the colonists and their posterity should enjoy all ali alithe blithe the nights rights and liberties of englishmen at home under these charters the colonists at various times asserted their right to worship god according to th the tho dictates of conscience in maryland a colony settled by tho the catholics the legislature in 1649 declared by law that no persons professing to believe in jesus christ should bo be molested in respect of their religion or in the free exercise thereof or be fe compelled lo 10 the belief or exercise of any other ligion religion ze against their consent in 1636 1036 the right of conscience was established in rhod island by roger williams which was confirmed to the people in their charter of 1663 iti in these words 1 I no ya person pirson within the colony at ans anytime gime time hac hereafter aker shall ahalt be in army arty wise wige molested puni punished mcd Med disquieted or called in question for jot any difference of opinion 0 in matters of relf feli religion igdon telio tello wio do hot actually disturb the civit civil peace of the colony about the same time the proprietors of carolina declared thau that t all persons settling therein shall enjoy the perfect freedom of religion in 1664 the proprietors of new jersey in a charter of liberties secured to the inhabitants the full and perfect enjoy ment of religious liberty by adopting the same language as hs that used in the rhode island charter in 1683 in new york tinder the duke of york the general assembly granted complete enjoyment of religious faith and alid worship warship to all professed faith in lil wod by jesus christ in lit 1701 Und erthe auspices of william Nr illiam penn penu pennsylvania declared that no man mah on earth had power or authority to rule ov over ermens mens consciences in religious ma matters tors and that no person should be cal cai called led in ques question tion or punished or hurt in in person estate or privilege for fot the sake of his opinion judgment or worship in the concern ments of religion all these declarations dechA rations of rights came from men who had left countries where there lwis was an established religion and in many cases caseb they emanated from men who had summered suffered ered from religious intolerance and generally if not universally from those who believed in the doctrine contained in the old and now testaments ta they were mader made too ewhen when they were colonie colonies s owing allegiance to the governments in the old bid world thus we see the doctrine of full and complete religious lotis totis faith anid arid tho the enjoyment of the right to exercise exer else eise that faith tin and d its privileges unmolested bases was established long before the declaration of independence true in some bome few instances it was confined to those who believed lit god by jeus jens christ chrlie which would exclude the jews I 1 as they did not nofa believe in jesus christ in others it mattered not whether they were catholics protestants jews jems or gentiles christians or antl anti christians s all were to io be protected in their concern ments of religion none nonh could be lawfully molested the tha exercise there bar religion yat wat 0 left to god and the A person I 1 conclude then thoth that thab the e right to worship god heco according iding to t the he dictates of coh cob conscience and to fully tally and pud freely exercise thit that right night Is one of the absolute I 1 rights of american citizens one of those rights which are inalienable inherent in man one that can not be bought sold or surrendered I 1 take it to be good sound law that an an american citizen can a not sell his life nor his liberty nor ills uis right to pursue happiness norlis nor his right to worship god as a his conscience may dictate nor non surrender r those rights to any other person or to any earthly power he may mar for crime forfeit any ally or all but he can not without crime yield them up he may to preserve hs his rights to aid others in iti preserving theirs sacrifice any or all these but to yield them jip up or any oj of them without some pome great grest use d f 4 F egr r a person dna community of dir clr ii thi their right to 1 ilor flor worship god or 0 r neglect to exercise that right as he or they sincerely believe he requires of him or them I 1 is worse than yielding up their life or liberty without cause religion in man is 19 strong and powerful nii stron bethan g life stronger than death stra stronger r ger than liberty or the pur suit tf happiness on it hang haug his hopes oghig life on it his hopes of haaven for it he lives ilves for ithe it he dies for it he endures pai pat pain n while ho he lives afi hii and nd it makes no difference whether he be jew or Greek bond or free black di or white iv Ilife mormon or gentile all claim b the right and all feel oppressed in the abridgement abridge ment of the right night in america all are unlawfully oppressed if that thap right night be abridged having taken a short view of the subject as it exi exl existed sted sled when the united states were colonies I 1 will n now ow proceed to some instances at and subsequent bent to the declaration DJ of independence bence in 1787 two sear year before the adoption of the constitution congress passed the ordinance for the government of the territory northwest of the ohio by it congress declared that religion morality and knowledge were necessary to good government and that no person demeaning himself ina lna in a peaceable and orderly manner shall ever be molested on account of hi his mode sinode of worship or religious sentiments in said territory and that this should be a compact between the original states and the people and states in said territory and forever remain unalterable unless liless u J by common i consent it also said this was established for extending the fundamental prin aples of civil and religious religions liberty which dorm form the basis whereon these republics their laws and constitutions are created and to fix and establish those principles ples as the basis of all laws constitutions and governments which forever hereafter shall be formed ac here I 1 find the i whole thirteen original states by their members in congress assembled beclar ing that the fundamental principles of these republics are civil and religious lib ercy erty not one without the other both belog being pillars of governments their constitutions and laws 1 civil liberty can not exist in this or in t any other country without religious liberty nor can religious liberty exist without civil liberty they are twin sisters yea yen more they are identical to destroy one you by the tile same act ac t de Z stroy the other in striking at one you h s strike the other ns i these then being the pillars of the I 1 it republics their constitutions and laws 1 before the adoption of the federal con atit ution they like every other power would armould be retained for the states and the people unless expressly surrendered to L the united states but nut behave before t s said sald no solute absolute ad adso lufe right could be sold a transferred or surrendered and conse f these could not be the very sale transfer or surrender would destroy the right they in the language of or some somo of the books are inherent herent hi inalienable 0 o able rights the very object of the constitution ind and laws the ution and laws of the federal gov erni eminent nent was the perpetuation and lection of these rights not the de destruction amro ruc of them or either of them the 11 fi jiame fiame 11 ame sentiment is contained in the dec of independence we hold these truths to be self evident it says bays 7 that all men are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights tights among these are life liberty and the tot happiness and to secure these i rights nights s governments are instituted among imong men with these views the constitution of ithe ribe united states was adoli adopted ted without saying any thing on the subject of re legious liberty but subsequently out of abundant caution an amendment was proposed and adopted containing these words congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or or prohibiting th the elfree free exercise thereof this would seem to be a buff bumm lelent sufficient guarantee a against ainest all encroachments encroach ments upon the rights of conscience and the free exercise e of religious liberty and it is conceded ed that until a few years past jt has been beell sufficient 1 it will be perceived that I 1 have not examined the several state constitutions on the subject yet I 1 will say that so far as my knowledge extends the same doctrine is asserted in them all in 1847 the first settlement in utah was made at great salt lake ct city r bya by a community who came here to enjoy ajoy the right to worship god according to the dictates of conscience on their arrival they bowed gave gavel thanks to god and consecrated themselves and the land to nim thim at the same time tinier set ahart apart ten lieres acres on to builds edilda Temp temie leand and other houses bf public worship ipso iso mu much eh I 1 honored by the Prophet sand apostles of old at this time utah belon belonged e to mexico but the community settling ettl etti ing here being citizens of the unite united states t te s and it being a time of war b between at t the he united State states sand and mexico it has been consid conslO considered pred fred within the power dower of the upi api ted states lentlie in the month oc ot february following mexico ceded aitto the units united states in september 1850 congress passed the organic act and in it extended the constitution and lawa of the united states over the territory therefore from july 1847 1647 until september ath 1850 there was no law of bf the united states in force here nor was wab there then dorbad there ever been any law of if mexico exico in force here which shows that during that time there was no law of civilized man to be vlola viola violated ted but they like the plymouth colonists had the paramount law of self preservation in which as ag before sald eaid are included life liberty both civil ana and religious and the pursuit of happiness they were american citizens and as such had full and complete powers to establish a government on the basis of morality knowledge and civil and religious liberty having these rights they from the necessity of the case by by mutual consent entered into a government the male members meeting twice each year and making laws few and alid simple simpie but such as they most needed about the middle of march 1819 1849 the government of the united states not having made any provision for thees the establishment of a government the inhabitants of this valley adopted a constitution ution in which they say it Is a fund fudd fundamental rule in all republican governments that all political power is |