Show TWO DIFFERENT VIEWS S OV OF THE EDMUNDS BILL THE lamoni herald ot which joseph smith is the editor has the following to say about the edmunds bill there are two provisions of the edmunds bill which chic h we think ought not to be adopted and become law one is the section providing lor for the taking charge of the perpetual emigration fund by trustees for the purpose of closing out that fund fond and winding up its business the other is the section providing for the appointment of trustees to take charge of and administer u upon ou the monetary affairs of the churek church our reasons for wishing that these provisions may not prevail are that when the trustees so appointed shall atte attempt ampt to administer in their office they will fludino a assets upon which to exercise their calling and the law will fall flat ot its purpose the measure to Is extreme and if it should fail may be construed into spiteful and oppressive legislation by those whom it was intended te to reach observe the reasons offered for disapproving of the bill there are no objections to the proposed robbery and invasion of the rights of property and religious freedom but simply the fear that the dishonest scheme will not be successful and that while failing of its purpose it will be construed by those intended to be plundered as spiteful and oppressive legislation le I 11 that leaves the logical inference that if the plan could be made successful the herald editor would have no objection to seeing the Gov government emment take possession possess on of the property of a church I 1 providing that the church is one which he desires to see b broken up and these are the views of ox a son of joseph the Seer who lived and died for religious freedom in contrast to such sentiments read I 1 the following from the christian i union 9 an avowed anti mormon magazine after giving a succinct epitome of the provisions of the bill and declaring that extraordinary tra is a mild term by which to characterize it and that it is without precedent precede ut the union says A if lay ty journal like the christian union hesitates greatly about calling in question the constitutionality of an act which it if lathered by b so conscientious a constitutionalist as senator edmunds Bd munds and carried in so conservative a chamber as the senate by bv so 80 larye large a but the end ena justifies the means is as common as aa it is dangerous and we think it legitimate to point out the principles involved ta la this bill if 11 congress has a ri right to appoint trustees of a corporation in the territories by a of reasoning the state tures won would id have a right to appoint appoint similar trustees in the states in and there would be nothing to prevent a legislative bode body governed by infidels from putting a all church property into secular hand bands or r for that matter a protestant or a roman catholic legislative bo body d from dealing in a similar mariner manner with the trustees trustee of churches of an opposite faith laith we do not deny the power of the government to dissolve the emigration fund aud even to appropriate its surplus property to educational 0 1 purposes s for we are inclined to hold bold that the powers of the state are well nigh illimitable but then by a of reasoning a socialistic state larity ei gi slature iture might dissolve a railroad ral road corporation pay its debts and take possession of foay its t ta surplus for the common benefit and this Is a socialistic doctrine which we are not prepared to accept without at least further consideration 11 the principle on which the christian union opposes the main provision of the bill to very different froin from that of the paper which claims to be the herald the danger to religious denominations in general is pointed out and the evil lurking in this kind of legislation is thus exposed we should think that all denominations no matter how bow much opposed to mormonism would seethe see the opening which such a measure would afford to impositions that may affect them all in turn once admit the lawfulness of state control of church property and where will be the end of its exercise it if the power is acknowledged to be legitimate lu in guy any ow cae no matter what may be considered the exigency a precedent will be established that can ee be cited in other cases and only the pretext will be needed to make it equally applicable to those sects which may mail now applaud its application to the detriment of 0 an obnoxious religious system the Christi christian anion does not deny the power of the government to dissolve the P E fund Company but perceives the abuse to which it may lead and the disasters that may follow its operations the only power by which it can be claimed that congress can dissolve a corporation established under a territorial lawis that extraordinary authority which is accorded to congress over the territories of the united states H X that fright i is conceded it may be argued that tha t whatever a TerrI territory tery may mav enact congress can annul and that what a territory Terri tury may organize or anize congress can dissolve but it does not follow that congress has the right to take the property of a corporation designed tor for a defined purpose and divert it to another and different purpose without the consent of the owners nor to take private property for public uses without just compensation to the proprietors the emigration fund has been sustained by the voluntary donations eions of individuals to be used to aid in the emigration of their co religion ests it cannot be lawfully used fo for r any other purpose if there is any available property belonging to the corporation it does docs bot belong to the public and cannot be appropriated to public uses ase proposed as in the bill without violating the fifth amendment to the constitution of the united states the union says it is inclined to hold that the powers of the state are well nigh illimitable the sooner that able paper is relieved ot that inclination cli nation the better it will be for those readers who take counsel from its columns the state in this country is limited in its powers and its limits are defined in the constitution all other powers but those expressed being reserved to the people who make mak e the state this holds good in reg regard ard too to the nation and also in reg regard a rd to each individual state that goes to make up the nation the powers of we state are therefore very far from being nearly illimitable because the they are distinctly and expressly ll limited mite and one of the limits defined is the power to take private property for public use without just compensation that is forbidden to the state and therefore the authority conceded to the general government by the christian union is entirely outside of the powers of the government perhaps the union means that the power of the government is well nigh illimitable in the territories but even taking the widest scope of that power claimed by the extreme advocates of centralization it must be exercised as admitted W within athin the limits and under the provisions of the constitution and as we have shown it is thus debarred debarres de barred from doing the very thir thin that the union intimates it may accomplish so far as any probable injury to the mormon cause is concerned we are perfectly indifferent as to what the government may attempt in regard to the P E fund but we are not indifferent to any proposition to break down the bulwarks bulwa which g guard aar d the rights of religious societies of private corporations and of individual citizens that these thes e are endangered by by the provisions of the anti mormon edmunds bill cannot be successfully disputed the christian union perceives the danger and sounds a clear note of warning war the lamon larioni herald sees nothing of the kind and only 0 opposes poses the movement because it is likely to be a failure that is because it will not effect the evil intended the difference is palpable to the naked vision and may be discerned with half an eye |