Show editorials ED ITO I TO RIA L 1 I 1 t q ESSENTIAL AND publio WE wn receive frequent notices from jhb C temes times J a vigorous abi ably een evening ing journal which part particularly tinder under ita ite now management we have considered one of our best beat exchanges occasionally sio nally dally hovi bovi however ow ever its lively editors get astray on the Wo mormon rmon question and though two we cannot ulder Wider undertake vako Vake to io reply t to all the mistakes ta I 1 k ea and absurdities into which journalists BO so frequently tumble in their haste to oppose mormonism yet it Is sometimes profitable to the public to have those errors corrected A few days daya ago an article appeared in the 1 efrom mf rom which we make some extracts and upon which we will offer a few comments two weaks weeks a ago 0 ho the tithes times called attention to ge the rapid spread of mormonism niam 1 anol ancl we ye made mide the aaser assertion tion that without polygamy the eeck would not hold together and polygamy is criminal 11 the deseret NEWS official organ of the church devotes considerable ble bie sid bid erable blo space in a late num berto reply the NEWS isa ia perhaps the most candid paper on the continent and at the asime time the most tenacious in irr ad adhering bering to its peculiar faith tk we quote tho the following from the NEWS to show the precise position of the mormon church on the statute against polygamy polygamy la Is mal mod crimi criminal nii nil by legislative enactment and opinion it la Is not criminal in and ot of itself and it can only ba be denounced as buchon suchow the hypothesis zuia zula ceia stat it Is not religion are not all crimes crimea made so caby by legislative enactment und judicial opinion will the NEWS admit that anything Is criminal in abid and of itself if it not then Is not polygamy criminal just juat as larceny is criminal because it has haa been made a crime by competent authority tho rity does dobs not the criminality rest on exactly the tha same ground I 1 carrying the comparison a little further it if polygamy can only be denounced as criminal on the hypothesis pot po hesia thesis that it is not religion oan san an absurd proposition doea does it not adl follow arceny can be regarded as a crime only gron flon on the hypothesis that it is not religion and it if a crowd of people organize a church one of the cornerstones corner stones of which was the right to steal would not hot the criminality of lar far as they were concerned immediately vanish our remarks on this subject were elicited by the statement of the limes that this sect would not hold bold together without polygamy and the argument of uhe tho united states supreme court that polygamy is not religion the court ad that religion is not within the cognizance of civil government does it not therefore follow that plural rn marriage can anly be denounced aa a crime on the hypothesis that it is not religion wherein lies the absurdity of this conclusion if any can cau be discovered it must be laid at the door of the supreme court not at ours and if it the statement of the times la hi true which we have not disputed that our religious system cannot hold together without polygamy are we not morally justified in in clinging to it and is it not an essential part of our religion and therefore outside of the cognizance of civil government but the times appears to bo be unable to discern the difference between of fences which are tire made criminal by sta statutory provisions and those which are criminal in their nature it asks us whether we will admit that anything ig Is criminal in and of itself and answering the question for ug us in the negative goes on with a a statement tat ement and an argument which are equally fallacious now we not only admit but affirm that there are thin thins things thina a which are criminal of 0 themselves larceny is one of them the yim Tim essays larceny is criminal because it haa been made a crime by competent authority 91 not eo so larceny Ij arceny la Is a wrong of itself wit without hoult holit any authoritative of the fact and independent of uny any pronounced penalty the dlf dif marence difference between matot walot prohibits pro moita a and mala in SQ is recognized by the best bist legal authorities J H and has haa been frequently touched japon in ihl pacer paper aa as tho the rimo timo edi edl editors tors tora who say they ard are regular re mtr mer bf the NEWS must havo have noticed oly gamy belongs to the former class blass larceny to the latter theft is wrong of itself BO so 14 murder so are adultery and other of fences against property and person ac n they confal contain a the essence 0 of f crime they are violations of 0 both human and divine law but they would be evil if neither divine revelation nor human legislation declared them BO so and the chief rason reason of this is because they infringe upon human nights rights the thief wilfully takes the thep property yo of another without the owners con bent sent that Is malum lantre in r tile the murderer jerek deprives a fellow creature of life the adulterer takes another i manval mans wife thebe these are mata mala th tase se the same divine law jaw which forbids these of fences alo aio denounces working on the Sab bab sabbath bith sabbath breaking Is malum fulz gun jun un der den the divine law and in some countries under human law iv while i in otti erd it is iii not a legal what is called smuggling ismalun but not malum in se its criminality depends upon statutory provisions plural marriage As Is of the same bame category it is not malum maium in e rud end la Is only maium maum prohibitum um uni in some countries it was not either elther one or the pother pothen other othen in letah until 1862 when a congress passed a law constituting that part of our religion a crime the criminality then of larceny and polygamy dees does not rest upon the same ground and if a crowd of people should organize a church one of tha the C corner cornor orr or r stones of which was the right I 1 i to steal the criminality allty of larceny BO fa ar as jas they were concerned would woula not Iva vanish nish because it inheres to the act and tha pretence pre tence tenee of religion would not affect its character the who civil law could be properly exercised in irk such a case cabe because the practice of buch euch a creed would i pe ai an infringement upon human n rights lights and the bame same ruie rule would world bold hold 9 good jn regard to a sect hect claiming as its religion divine authority to deprive by compulsion any person ol 01 ite ife lie life liberty or property also to any man who under the tho name of religion should invade the matrimonial rights of another if the mormon church compelled men or women to marry against their will it could not calm ealm caim exemption from fegal legal restrictions but as its marriage system eo contains no element of force fraud or essential crimo bt any kind it itis ibis Is not a matter for civil legislation the rimes times ja altogether mistaken in an another 0 statement that is that rac fac cording according to the mormon idea right and wron wrong gare are wholly matters of conscience this is a bare assumption without any bup sup p port in our doctrines or ruy auy anything thing sel set forth in this paper the foregoing remarks about mala inala in seare scare se are sufficient to show that we take no such ground but the times complains that the mormons cormons willmot admit that the public conscience is superior to their own on this question of polygamy just so on religious matters we will not submit mit t to the conscience ol 01 the ameri amerl I 1 can people nor of the whole world under the constitution conscience in religion is free the public conscience has no more right to prevail on the question of our religious marriages than it has in that of our baptisms for the dead it Is opposed as much to the one as to theother the other we wa ric roc received elved them both from the same source it makes no difference to us what the public conscience has to say about either the celibacy of the clergy a catholic doctrine ia is opposed by the protestant public conscience but catholic priests on that account are not compelled to marry if civil government has haa the right light to legislate against our religious plural marriage it has an ea equal ul right on the ground taken b by 7 t the b times to legislate against cel eel celibacy I 1 ba acy indeed when the door closed by the constitution is burst open on the plea of public conaci conscience ence or any other prete pretext kt there is no nd telling at what point the eta sta state te will stop in its attempt to control religion it was the public conscience that burned the martyrs killed the prophets crucified the savior and committed all the barbarities and diabo diabolisms iiams liams that have been perpetrated pet rated to put down heresy 7 1 from time me immemorial the public conscience is not worth woith a cent in the argument but the times seems puzzled where to draw the line between the rights of government and the rights W of religion under the constitution jt is a very ompie matter moer to do this we accept the limiti limits defined by and adopted by phe the he TJ 81 81 sj court golpl low lov 10 liis lils J itis i jime eliou enough ib for the rightful pu purposes anc i of civil government for its a officers I 1 rs to interfere when ghen principles breal break 0 out it into overt aeh acts against peace peace and good order it cannot be shown that our marriage biag ge principles break out in this mannelin man manner nerin in the least degree on the contrary they are conservative of peace and good order they are calculated to promote both in the I 1 highest degree they tend to the prevention of crime and in no wa way y impinge upon the legitimate powers at civil elvil govern ment therefore on the very doctrine promulgated by tb the court of last resort they are not proper subjects subject 9 for legisla tion and consequently the act of 1862 which attempted to do what the abode rule says ought not to be done is legally void or there Is no force in logic we recommend the rimes times on its next attempt to give the NEWS a rub to read up a little and be sure of its ita premises this time it is quite astray both in facts and conclusions AND TSE BOOK OF or mogon momon GREAT efforts are being made by the learned to discover the m meaning eail 1 of certain characters inscribed on tablets found in the mounds of iowa illinois ohio and other places in the east some of the curi curl curious oils hieroglyphics supposed to have been carved by the indians of utah and wyoming have also engaged gag edthe the attention of and the results of their heln hein labors haye have been published and widely circulated in the proceedings of the davenport academy of natural sciences iowa for 1879 there are some very mery vety interesting inter eating n g and instructive remarks made by the pr president ealden t of that association in his annual address from which we make a few extracts as i they relate to a subject of as much importance to td us as those who ilvo livo in the region formerly decu occupied pled by the mound builders in alluding to the tablets which have been found on which there ara aro representations of animals and pl plants arifi as well adof as of human beings with characters resembling the bun sun moon stars and other natural objects dr K R J farquharson Farquhar son soa the president said ic no one as na yet has hu i suggested any reading or solution of the letters or hieroglyphics which are also aiso repeated bome at least in the last found tablet but we need not despair I 1 hau hat venerable iet let t mr ur S F hayen haven in lof these very inscriptions says as reported in the proceedings of the AW amerlean american erlean antiquarian society at present unintelligible but may maj may hereafter disclose their secrets when the tho habits of thought and the methods of expressing and recording facts and ideas peculiar to the american races of both continents shall be better comprehended and compared this must be the fruit truit ofin of information more accurate and gen oral and philosophy more pr profound 0 than has heretofore 7 b been beun e e n applied to their elucidation after glancing at the fact that the bear the grizzl v ld id Is 14 depicted the tablets from the mounds toge i ther with the mastodon masto don doh and arid show indr the reasonableness of the con cod elusion that the mastodon was living at the epoch of the mound builders Bui the doctor asks the ques tion tiou were the mound builders he then shows the commonly accepted theory that they were a kindred race to the az tees and that as the traditions of the natchez affirm all the valley of the mississippi was peopled by a race of sun shippers worshippers wor like themselves selves 3 but this 7 he I 1 J sa says y S was a comparatively recent event there were a race more advanced than the natchez at least more expert in preceded them and must have occupied the country for ages 11 as the following facts will show A recent writer Jacob houghton states that cc A single district of isle royal 18 riles miles square had bad produced for these ancient miners more moro copper than the total production of the mines af pf lake superior for icho the space apace of 20 dearal years I 1 ahat this region supplied not only this count country but mexico the antilles yucatan Yuca tanj central america and probably even south america At another iother lother theory is that of eink rink a learned dale date who has spent mi many dinv inv years amon among ig the Esqui maux and if quite familiar with their language A 1 ns herink he leunk ays aya i the Esqui maux abi nei aage nage we know them are an expiring race that they did not always ways waya levei by the bea aea shore and on the products of the seal fishery that they once had bad other othen habits of life and were wore forced to migrate north northward wardy having at one time occupied the tho most of this thia continent 11 I 1 A great deal more was said to show the extreme probability of this being a correct theory to us who are familiar with the history of Nep bites hites and lamn Lama la man tea aa ae recorded in the book of mormon mor 1 stool this la Is easy to be uLder under understood d when the truth of that inspired book was challenged by the learned because it tells of elephants horses and other large mammals having been contemporaneous with man seeing that inere inure were none of those large quadrupeds found on this nt when thie the spaniards first came here it seemed to receive assent aa a scientific conclusion cl amt iut lut now the rev mr goss and other gentlemen of undoubted veracity ity have exhumed pictorial tablets with characters upon them in which it may be seen that these higher main mammals mails malls were contemporaneous with the mound builders no one appears to doubt it it is pertinent i to the question who were th the tho 0 mound builders bui bul to aak ask who were the engraves of P plates lates continually being found on this continent the rinder Kinder kinderhook hook houk plates ates for instance ina tance named in these very proceedings who were the people that made the curious metal figures found by dr van patten of f costa rica and other explorers 0 of the ruined cities of central america naho told the prophet joseph smith there were elephants horses and other large inam mammals mals mais in the days when the ancient jared ites lived if he knew that there were none noue of these thebe creature creatures is orthis continent when the apan arasi larus cammer earner how did he learn the fact th thab that a t th there ere ero had had bad been the aris atis answers aers to these qu questions estl esti ons one as M well as to the queries of the and antiquarians arians who are puzzled over the mounds and tablets ta bleta |