Show THRUST AT RELIGIOUS ae LIBERTY F the ank ili ilg salate seriate has passed bill fon for r the suppression of polygamy in utah the measure consists consist s of two portions the first is occupied changes in the law of procedure as regards prosecutions for polygamy it sweeps awaya away a number of enactments by which ahe the he mormon hierarchy through the territorial legislature had 1 sought 1 p to render prosecution difficult and conviction lill impossible possible it also Iro tro provides vides additional means to secure testimony against polygamists thus supplementing the edmunds bill the tiie second part of the measure deals with the property of the church of the latter latten day saints a body which owes owel to the territorial legislature As every act of that legislature is liable to repeal by congress there is a technical right to dissolve this corporation and tor to hand haud over its Iyo iso property perty to trustees selce selected ted by the resident but it never is wise la in dealing with property to exercise the rights of interference to the utmost and in this case a precedent is set which might be found exceedingly ly dangerous in the future not meray merely the mormon church but every church organization in theder tiie territories ri is threatened b by this action onland one ona and all ali ot of them are lound jound liable to the confiscation of their property or version to objects of of w which ilich they do donot not pot approve in case congress should see sec fit to repeal the territorial acts act of their incorporation already alarm has been taken by other reli relt religious gidus bodies and aud there is reason to fear that the first half of mr hoars haars bill will be sacrificed xo to the faults of the second retake meta We take e the above abose from th the oPhila philadelphia Ante american rican that journal endeavors deavors 1 to give fair and impartial explanations pla nations of public measures and aud aims to make maake succinct and antell intelligent I 1 gent comments thereon while outspoken on the utah atah question and pronounced against 19 polygamy it is not usually harsh or malicious in its utterances but like most papers which occasionally touch on the mormon question ont it 1 is not familiar with the details of the subject subjects however this is a common fault and when grave and venerable Se senators pator i who figure as solvers of the problem cAlil exhibit bit quite as much of the th same kind of ignorance writers who make merely passing passing notices of current events may be pardoned for som of their errors the american says the hoar bill 4 sweeps away a number of enactments by which the mormon hierarchy through the territorial legislature had sought to lender render prosecution difficult and conviction lon ion impossible the american will no doubt be surprised to learn that there are no such enactments on the statute books and t that h at the repeal clauses lu iii the hoar bi bill to which it refe refers hare Ware are measures leveled at the empty air they have no other force and effect whatever than to expose 1 ose the dense ce of senators edmunds and hoar and the committee on judiciary concerning the subject on which they attempted to legislate this we have explained already in detail and we advise tile the Ameri american oin oln to learn that when commenting I 1 I 1 upon this matter at tire the next session bession of congress it may do so understanding ly the technical rk right ht of congress to dissolve a private corporation ion ton religious purposes and to halid ham over its property to trustees selected by the president is one that we fall to recognize we should be obliged to the american if it would enlighten us a little on that point if con cou congress ress can dissolve one corporation and gand tand hand over its proper property to tile the manipulation pu lation of government ap appointees es it can do the same with other corporations the amerman american perceives tile the application of this to other than mor mori 1 abil religion lOtts corporations in the territories but the it exists Is equally applicable to corporations not religious atinay be extended to corporations for ninart clai cial commercial iner cial clai industrial railroad or other purposes if one L kind ind of private col coi horation por po atlon ration can thus be treated why not another and every other kind or Is the 1 technical rl lit of congress in this respect confined to the control oil on ly orue orre ivious iotis corporations I 1 we WIL would like ilke to know whence this technical ri right is derived Is 16 it to be found in tee tec the constitution if so where is the dause mause it must be remembered that the tile corporation property the bill contemplates confiscating for that is really the proper word is not a part pirt of the territorial government in any sense it Is not under er the direction odthe of the state at all 3 it is neither the property of the terri korv nor of the united states it is not connected with the secular gov ern mentin any way it may be argued that as the act of incorporation was passed by bythe the territorial legislature congress has the right to annul that act granting that for arguments sake does it follow that when the act is repealed the private property of the i corp orators goes into the control of the Lei lel legislature slature that passed the acl act or the cog coz congress ress that annulled it the idea is preposterous and is suggestive of dangerous contingencies suppose that the corporation is dissolved dissolve by any could effect its decease what becomes of the remains do they not belong to the tile individuals divi duals who composed the corporation during its vitality the right of property cannot be invaded in any such way as is contemplated in the cie hoar bill the property ot or the church of jesus christ of latter day saints whether that church be all an incorporation under tho secular law or not belongs to that church and to no other body power authority or person it is no more under the direction ui of this territory or of congress than nan is tile the property of the utah central railroad or of the deseret national bank both of which are private corporations or aniced e under the joei local 1 laws some persons may suppose that the act of incorporation parsed by the utah legislature made the church organization aulza aniza tion a public corporation but this would be a great mistake A anub public corporation Y is an organization of a bartot part ot th the state estate it is political dinits in its j nature or else the government has the whole interest in its existence property and objects creation by the itle sros eov does docs not make a corporation public bublie in its nature A 1 bank deriving derev in its charter f from roin the government if i its stock is owned by private individuals is a private and not a pit public alic corpora tian although it may be established for I 1 public bublic uses the incorporation of a church to give it a legal status so as to acquire and hold property as an individual ind does not constitute it a public corporation nor give the government any authority over its business or property the corporation whose property is sought 11 to be ba sequestrated rated is a religious body such as is common in the i united states and in england it was incorporated under the law lor for eccle eccie purposes it is authorized to s sue ue and be sued to establish order and re regulate worship and to hold and occupy real and personal estate the trustee i in trust and assistant trustees authorized to receive hold buy seil seii manage use and control tile the property of the church are to be elected by said church as a religions religious society at a general or special conference the property received by them is to be used for the well being of said church and the rules and antl regulations of the church are to relate to solemnities sacraments ceremonies consecrations endowments ti things marria marriages es fellowship or the reli rell religious klous kious duties dutie of man to his maker 11 it is thus a religious corporation for religious rellious purposes and congress has no more technical or other right to control its property either by trustees or any other way than to manage the property of a bank or of a private 1 individual I if the corporation Is dissolved the t I 1 i e church of jesus christ of latter day saints remains intact it is not and cannot be affected as a church by any auy a human enactment it was wius organized organize i by revelation and commandment of the most high god and will continue nue j and increase and spread abroad it was incorporated by secular law to a irive ive ave it a legal status for the convenience of receiving holding and conveying property all religious societies have this right in this free co un try the attempt to it is an effort to destroy it tile the movement to place its property in the hand hands of persons who have no interest therein is a scheme of spoliation and rob be bery r it has not yet succeeded and wilf will not succeed for though laws mas mat may yet be enacted lookin looking gr to that eh end they will not accomplish the purpose designed all supporters of human rights and defenders of civil and religious liberty should weigh well weli the th caution couched in the concluding sentences of the article we have clipped from the american the confiscation of the property of one church however unpopular will be but the beginning of sorrows the precedent will prove a standing menace to all unorthodox religions an and a the commencement if not of a un union i on of church and state of the domination 1 of the state over the church which will be a deadly thrust at the heart of that religious freedom which has been one of the proudest boasts of this great and independent republic |