Show UTAH AFFAIRS IN CONGRESS there appeared to bo be one point poin of attack by the ring or the ene of the people of utah which was pushed with a vigor that would have done honor to a good and worthy cause an attempt to unseat the hon george Q cannon by a charge that he was illegally elected and it if elected that he was ineligible by reason of being a polygamist the failure of this scheme is too well known to need further comment but it may be well to enquire the legal effect if the abortion had passed congress the bill to provide the qualifications of territorial delegates re quiren the delegate to be twenty five years of age seven years yearn a citizen odthe of the united states an inhabitant of odthe the territory to which qualifications quail flea no one can object but nut ut the one intended to strike at mr cannon was and no person guilty of bigamy or polygamy poly amy shall be eligible 21 had this tais bill become a law it would have failed of its purpose guilty of bigamy or polygamy 91 means any peron person legally convicted of bigamy or polygamy which does not and could not apply to mr cannon for the law presumes a man innocent 0 of all crime before trial and conal conviction l ion lon and therefore mr cannon i presumed bythe by the law not guilty when discussing this matter many cite the case of congressman bowen of south carolina who was expelled from congress for bigamy the facts of bowens case are lie he was tried by the court in the district of columbia found guilty of bigamy and sentenced after which he was expelled from his seat in congress being a convicted man he was deemed unfit to associate with alth v ith honorable men after george Q cannon has been found guilty of bigamy or polygamy 9 ll 11 by a jury abury of his countrymen and the supreme court of the united states at washington sash vash shall declare that conviction convict io n legal and binding it will be time enough to propose to turn him out of his seat but it is not supposed that mr cannon will live long enough to see the supreme court of the united states pronounce an opinion that will convict a man of crime who only obeys the command of heaven and when the constitution of the country declares that congress shall make no lau ay respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the fre exercise thereof therefore the c conclusion nelu is that if the proposed bill should become a law it would be declared unconstitutional but if I 1 am mist mistaken aken auen in thi sand it should be declared a valid law then to be operative on any party hu must first be found guilty of bigamy or polygamy by the courts of tile twe country so much for this infamous law which attempts to stake down the right of a people to say who shall represent them in congress george Q cannon is too well known in utah to need any defence those who know him feel that he is gods noblest work an honest man to which nature has added a full share of talent it was intended in this communication ni to review that celebrated law the poland bill and show to the ordinary mind how completely it will fail of the purposes intended by the ring to despoil the mormons cormons of their property and transfer it to themselves but ut I 1 will defer this until time and your columns unias will nii permit I 1 INDEX N D MY |