Show UTAH MAH commissioners S AND THEIR POWERS GENERAL the newly appointed member of the utah corn com mission has arrived and is ready to enter upon the duties of his office we bid the gentleman welcome to this thriving territory with its clear skies pure mountain air lovely lakes glorious climate fertile soil thrifty and peaceable people and grand opportunities for a quiet leisurely and healthy existence he has been received by persons anxious to enlist him on the side of aggression against the majority of the citizens it is to be ho hoped ped that he will take time to inform inform himself in regard to the position principles and intentions of the peo people e on the other side but whether he does so or not it is to be expected that thai he will make himself familiar with the requirements ot his office and also with its limitations the tendency of the utah commission from the first has been not to the neglect of any official duty but rather to the assumption of f functions entirely foreign to the office in order to act lawfully and consistently it Is needful for an officer not only to know what ought to be done but also the bounds and extent of his rightful powers excess of authority is often more injurious J urious than tardiness bess uess or apathy the commissioners have done a great many things for which they can find no authority inlaw in law it is true that their powers as defined in the act that created their office are very limited and perhaps having so good a salary they are anxious to do something in the way of earning the money so liberally provided by a generous government this would be quite laudable if it was only lawful but all that they d do 0 OW officially e ally outside of the duties s fled fied in the edmunds act is unlawful and in the nature of usurpation the full and complete authority of the utah commissioners requires no great research or study stilly to thoroughly gom comprehend it is all comprised in one section of a single law the ninth section of the edmunds act it is simply to appoint registration and election officers who are to perform their duties under the existing laws of the united states and of utah territory this with the canvassing of the retains returns of votes cast for members helbers of the legislative assembly and the issuing ng of of election to those p persons dersons who appear to have been lawfully lawally f elected to that assembly constitute t in their entirety the duties of the utah commission whatever they do u n that capacity 0 outside of these well defined and easily understood requirements is surplusage is extra official and utterly void iu law if any one disputes this let him cite the authority for anything f further arther the utah commissioners have thought proper to fulminate rules and rega regulations lations for the government of the officers whom they are authorized to appoint and for the conduct of elections vor tor this they can find no warrant whatever in law those rules and regulations are of no more mere legal value than if issued by as many lawyers doctors carpenters bricklayers brica layers or other private citizens if the appointed officials choose to consider them authoritative so long as no one is injured all right it pleases them and hurt us but they have no binding force whatever in law the only lawf lawful ul regarda timond to registration and election officers are included in the edmunds act and the utah law of elections approved Febra february aay 22 1878 among other assume assumptions alons of the utah commission was the formulation of a test oath this was conformed to by many of our citizens in order that no obstruction might be placed in the way of elections we pointed out its invalidity invalid liy iLy when it was first intruded upon the people the supreme court ot of the united states sat sab down upon it when brought to the attention of that tribunal and the utter lack of authority on the part of ef the utah commission to issue orders and for formulate malate oaths and do anything outside of the powers power 8 we have enumerated was emphatically declared but what the commissioners had done without authority directly previous to the decision of the highest court they have since done indirectly at arst birst they formulated the test oath themselves now they induce the registration and election officers whom they appoint to require it each method is equally illegal with the other it requires legislation to add to the oath prescribed by law no mere administrative officer has a right to add a line to any law nati national onal or territorial that part of the oath which ia now required of citizens in order to register that relates to bigamy polygamy and unlawful cohabitation is utterly void because it is added to tile the lawf lawful ul oath by persons having legislative nol powers and who are not authorized by any law of the united states or of the territory to f frame rame any oath or to require any oath other than that prescribed in the statute aforesaid A great many of our people have taken the unlawful oath because they wished to exercise the right of frau francise cise to which they were entitled and did not desire to jeopardize in any way the result of elections but that the Interpol interpolated aLed or added portions of the oath are without warrant in law is beyond the power of any lawyer to refute nobody need subscribe to it unless he chooses to do so in the latest issue of unauthorized and illegal rules and regulations by the commissioners the following appears the deputy registration officers registration refI shall immediately a after ter the june and september revisions rev islona of the regis tm tion listi transmit to the secretary of the commission a statement showing the total number of registration voters in his precinct placing the number of females in separate lists they will also report the names of all persons whom they have good reason to believe have entered into polygamy since the june jane revision of 1885 11 we wish to inform the deputy registration officers that all such orders from the commission are without authority tho rity in law those officers are under no obligations to perform this extra and unofficial labor III if the supreme court of the united states is is as any authority on the powers and limitations limitation of the utah commission this dictatorial assumption is without 1119 ingal al force and effect there is noth leg 1119 in the law which authorizes the commissioners to issue any orders or 11 or wills whatever if there is let them or their apologists cite the jaw we also also wish to caution registrars and deputy registrars in regard to erasing the names of lawful voters from the registration lists and also in trying to play the spotter as requested or required in the order from which we have made the above extract the commissioners have no right to demand the names of citizens in any such manner the registration officers have no tight to play the spy or informer further we call the attention of citizens to the law in regard to the erasing of names from the list the registration officer Is required to I 1 make careful f ua inquiry if any person whose name is on the list has died or removed from the precinct or is otherwise disqualified as a VOW voter of such precinct 11 and if so to erase the same mere rumor or spite story is not sufficient the voter must be actually disqualified or his name cannot be lawfully stricken from the list any voter whose name is not on the list may appear before the registrar during the week commencing on the first monday in june J u ne in each year and have his name reg registered estered on taking the oath provided by law aw that oath does not contain the clause c ause illegally added by the instructions of the utah commission and if anybody is unlawfully prevented from voting by improper erasure of his name from the list and the enforcement ot an illegal oath to restore it he has his remedy in an acison action at law against the registrar and can recover damages he cannot proceed against the utah Commis loners for according to the ruling of the supreme court of R the united states the registrars are the responsible parties for they have no right to obey the unlawful ul instructions and ad illegal rulings and regulations of the commissioners and if theodoso they do oso so they do it at their own peril A criminal prosecution is another remedy for the citizens against the registrar the trap that is being set does not require much sharpness of vision to perceive let all citizens of the peoples party keep a good lookout look out for font it see that their names are kept on the registration list if they ought to be there watch the pliant tools of unlawful authority closely see that the registrars do not exceed nor neglect their duty they are required bylaw by law to see whether any qualified voter resides in the precinct whose name is not on the registration list 11 and if so to add the same thereto if any such officer shall wilfully fall or neglect to perform any of the duties required of him he be Is liable to a fine of one thousand dollars or imprisonment in the penitentiary for two years there are gentlemen on the commission who ought to be ashamed of enter btag nto into any such scheme as that indicated tg td by the unlawful order from which we have quoted they know bj better etter they are well aware that they ike aie exceeding exceed in t heir authority and that they are making ma ai ing requirements that registration officers have no obligation to notice we have never obstructed them in the lawful discharge of their easy duties but on the contrary contrady have assisted to secure a ready and general acquiescence in their measures to secure elections regulated by the edmunds law jaw but we consider their present course utterly unwarranted in law and not required by anything expected of t them hem in the impartial and gentlemanly gentleman ly exercise of their very simple authority author ty when ligh high toned officials discover what is r required eq wired of them by the laws creating an and d regulating their offices they will seek to perform faithfully e very every requirement and remain within the limits prescribed A assumption and usurpation are not compatible with republicanism and the work of informers is below the dignity of gentlemen whether they be called by the name of republicans or democrats |