Show NEEDLESS forebodings A RESPECTED contemporary announced that on monday last judge zane would take a seat on the bench as chief justice of utah and at the atme e time the people of utah will aso into mourning we do not think the e prediction will be verified we see no reason for the grief anticipated and nd no signs of its coming there have been several decisions of athe the supreme court of the united states in relation to utah affairs since nce the time when this territory 1048 as subject to the reign of terror that paralyzed business and filled thousands sands ou of homes with sorrow and these have settled some questions which were then unde aided ded and were the cause of much of f the trouble and uneasiness of the tirades aties experience also has taught ny lessons which cannot surely be e jost to the J judiciary clarn but must be ot of value both to the officials and the people the class of our citizens exposed to w the severity of that stringent and changeable application of special s which was formerly the prin pal difficulty can cad now understand much atch better than then what those act mente require and therefore tee in a much better position to con rom oi to them intelligently and the tn history of the past four or five Y aars has demonstrated that a fair insistent and humane judicial policy is much more potent in the di tion sought than harshness terrorism Iori sm and vindictiveness in III the period alluded to no de enfant under the edmunds act ewhen ww hen arraigned what would be the construction of that act as ap plied 4 to his cam each new trial delopes de ov eloped lOPed some new ruling and what at was considered a proper ren dering dg in one case was changed to suit the peculiarities of another and so there was no but a great deal of positive circumstances are dif beelat erent today to day and there is a more finite understanding of the law ind its ita application the disposition of the public outside of this territory too is modi fied at the time of the excesses complained of public feeling was wrought up to fever heat on the utah question and almost any extreme in the execution of the law would have been j justified justified thereby but public men the leaders of the nation have received much information since then and while there is a fixed determination that the prevailing marriage system shall be maintained and innovations shall not be permitted in this country the persecution of people endeavoring to live without clashing with the laws is not approved either by congressmen or the people whom they represent and many things which were formerly done in utah without rebuke would now raise a storm of indignation in circles where influence is powerfully exercised we see no reason to suppose that judge zane desires to oppress or injure the people of this territory or any class clam among them the course that will be pursued in the administration of the criminal laws will depend largely upon the prosecuting attorney judges have sworn duties to perform and so have the acers of the court laws are made to be enforced but their enforcement does not imply malice invidious zeal the concentration of effort in one special direction nor the accumulation of profits by way of fees it does not require the packing of j uries juries the badgering and insulting of wiant witnesses ases nor the cowardly berating and verbal assault of helpless defendants neither does it demand in every case the full penalties prescribed particularly when mitigating circumstances appear and the purpose of the law can be attained by mildness and the exercise of judicial discretion all these considerations will we believe have some weight in the future administration of the laws of this territory and as a great many people who at one time were la in such a condition that they could not fully comply with the laws as then construed are now living in harmony with a fair and rational interpretation thereof it is reasonable to conclude that the disruption of social order and the tumult that then disturbed thee the community will not be revived because the supposed occasion for it does not now exist or at any rate to iny anything thing like the same extent I 1 we would rather look foiw forward a rd for peace for progress and for such an administration of the laws as reason and justice demand than expect a return to the methods which belonged to a past which we hope has gone forever in this instance we think the words of the song maker are applicable and we suggest them to those who can only forebode trouble let tomorrow take care of tomorrow leave things of the future to fate the use to anticipate borrow lifes troubles come never too late |