Show THE FULL TERM wm a smith sent to the penitentiary tent iary lary this afternoon william R smith president of the divis county stake was wa called to receive sentence oi on I 1 a plea of guilty to unlawful cohabitation judge mcbride in behalf of the defendant asked the court ta postpone sentence for three weeks to permit mr smith to attend to some personal business busin riss mr peters objected to to the postponement and judge zane refused to grant the request quest the court then said mr smith what have you to say do you intend ahten to obey the law in ahelf future judge mcbride said he be had bad a statement written by the defendant which he be desired the court to toli listen aten to the paper was then read may it please your honor I 1 desire to make a statement I 1 have lived near 4 ly sixty two years and lor for the first time I 1 am now arraigned before a court of justice having been charged with breaking the laws of ray my country I 1 will here state that I 1 married three of 0 my wives between thirty and adde forty years ago I 1 married my last wife some twenty years since and tor for the last three or four years she had been an invalid a great portion of the time confined to h her er room and much of the time to her bed the condition and circumstances with which she is now surrounded are likely to hasten her to an untimely prave crave when we enter edthe marriage contract to our understanding there was no law against it they are the mothers of my children and the grandmothers of my grandchildren grand children our children are our seals to the agree agreement and our grande grandchildren hildren are duplicate seals to the same and consequently parties in interest it sexual intercourse of itself constituted the offense with whick which I 1 am charged coveted by the time of the indictment I 1 could not admit that chati I 1 am guilty I 1 can state slate that I 1 have not counseled or advised in public or private any one to break the laws of the land I 1 hold that all men are equally responsible before the law and while I 1 have to do desire in the least degree to put myself in a to the laws of my country unless I 1 could stifle ever every sense or of honor and manhood and alot blot out every feeling of humanity from my soul I 1 could not repudiate diate the contracts before mentioned without the free consent and desire of all parties in interest and it is my desire so far as I 1 may have the opportunity to provide f tor e man rt the wants and necessities of those women who are the mothers of my children whose gray hairs shows unmistakable evidence of their decline in life it if I 1 could prove to your honor and it would tree free me from punishment that tor for the three years covered by the indictment I 1 had not noc visited eit either er of the houses of those women to inquire after the wants of their families and provide tor for their thair necessities and had not net assisted them in the hour of affliction and sore trial that I 1 had not given iv them any more recognition than n though they were strangers the verdict of my heart would be that teat I 1 was entire I 1 ly destitute of moral courage a and ad that I 1 was deserving of just co condemnation I 1 would prefer to suffer punishment an undeserved deserved rather than escape under those circumstances when it was justly deserving those women have their own homes and farms and hold the title to theta in their own right and so far as peace and good order are concerned they will compare favorably with the same 3 number a r anywhere and I 1 am grateful grated al to state that up to the present not one disgraceful act has or can be recorded against any one obe ot of my families II if it please your honor I 1 respectfully ask you to deter defer sen fence until you have carefully considered all the facts and conditions in the above statements having full confidence in your intelligence and lit high gh sense of honor equity a and n justice I 1 wast trust that bat you will use the discretion you possess ind and mete out to me the same measure that you would desire meted out to you it if our conditions were reversed I 1 ou for forgeur your indulgence and patience I 1 have no more to say courato court Cour tto to defendant defend mint how many wives have you yeu mr amith 1 Ibave have four tour court you have a lawful wife i mr smith sinni yes sir air court what is the reason you cannot promise with her alone in the future mr smith my reasons are given in my statement tile the court then read president smith s i OB 08 tao ot um offense ot of havi having a g more wives than one and said the court would not de oe impartial to sentence poor and ignorant men to the penitentiary for the full term and aad be lenient to you a president of a stake and a man of influence in the church he then sentenced mr smith to six months and to pay a fine of and costs after a pause judge zane saidi said I wish here to remark that in some of these cases gentlemen 1 presuming on their personal friend friendship shi p with delave Tie have approached me to influence my j edg ment meat in thess these cases I 1 wish to say that I 1 do not want any more of such proceedings ce edings this does not apply to judge judee mcbride who has represented the defendant here |