Show THE TELE CASE AGAINST LEMER ELDER TAYLOR wic WE publish today to day the text of the indictment against apostle john which was found by the grand jury at blackfoot idaho idahoan 1 on thursday october he ciar charge ge preferred is for inciting to xe rebellion bellion against the laws of the united states the statute wider mader which the prosecution is being conducted is section WN of the Revised statutes of the united states which reads as follows every citizen who incites sets on loot foot assists or engages gages in any rebellion lengares len lio against t the e authority of the united states or the laws thereof or gives aid or comfort thereto 6 shall ball be punished by imprisonment not more than ten years or by a line of not more than ten thousand dollars or by both of such punishments and an shall moreover be incapable of holding any office under the united states the alleged facts relied upon in this prosecution are that the defendant in a discourse delivered last august at oxford idaho counseled and advised three hundred people there assembled assep bled to practice polygamy and unlawful cohabitation it does not yet appear if the allegation is correct how this advice or counsel would be in the nature of an incitement to a rebellion or insurrection it is not claimed that any insurrection or rebellion such as is contemplated in the statute either took place or was contemplated or promoted in a report of the meeting published in the tribune of this city and understood to have been furnished by the chief agent in the ge proceedings roce edings against the defendant all he was accused of say saying ingon on the polygamy question was 1 I am the son of a polygamist and mean to practice it too the chief causes of offense were understood der stood at the time to be some remarks made by the speaker in regard to the course of several persons who had been cut off the church and bad joined the josephites and some advice to monogamous citizens to vote at the coming el election and test their right to the suffrage in the highest courts court of the land the remarks about the bins that bad been committed enraged the apostates and the advice about voting exasperated the republicans it is a beligio political conspiracy that moves in the prosecution against elder the person who swore out our the complaint 11 W bennett I 1 is s a republican candidate for office who cannot be it them the mormon citizens of bingham county vote against him the two witnesses who appeared are before ore the 9 grand jury EJ I 1 anthony ut ony and john V F harris arris are josepat Jo josephites sepal 1 I bitter as gall and overrunning with hatred against the defendant and the cause of which heisa he is a representative anthony wrote an account of the meeta meeting tit at the time of its occurrence to the josephite oseph itel I 1 herald substantially the mame fame as that published in the tribune all that he reported as coming from brother taylor on the polygamy amy question was that he declared 11 1 am tae son of a poleg mist and mean to practice it too these tire are very thin foundations on which to base a criminal action we have said nothing about the actual facts of the discourse we simply give the statements of those who have hava made the complaint and urged the prosecution it it were not for the state of public feeling wrought up against everything bearing the name or of mormon in the idaho election we would not net think it possible to flub find an indictment on such grounds as are alleged against the defendant but with the hostility that prevails in the region whee the trial is to be conducted there is little chance of an any fairness or justice to the ace accused used j j ahe the whole movement is in the nature of a muzzle on free speech it is conceded by all fair minded people that in america 9 a citizen nas the righetto right LO believe what giddins seems right to him and to express his views view on any aay subject no matter matte how 08 orthodox they may be of ourse course no man has the right to incite to the commission of crime or it if he does so he is amenable to the law but every man has the right to express his dissent to any law and proclaim his faith in any doctrine only overt acts can be legally punished A man may publicly announce his belief that polygamy is right and even declare that he means to practice it there is nothing criminal either in that belief or that it is only when he carries his belief or his declaration into of the law that he can oe be proc proceeded ceded ti against I 1 under inder the laws and constitution of the country the malignant course of the josephite accusers is indicative of the spirit of the cause which they advocate it is of the adversary and comes irom from beneath it is the same spirit which slew joseph the martyr and which has waged war against the saints from the beginning those who are possessed bait by it may bring some sorrow and distress upon the objects of their wrath by their diabolism but they will in the end be the greater sufferers they are to be pitted pitied for they will surely reap the reward of their awn own doings the proceedings against elder J W taylor form one more chapter in the history of the crusade against the lat ter day saints because of their faith in the revelations of almighty god and they still further tend to show that the enemies of mormonism are utterly unprincipled and that in warring against the system batem which has ome come down 0 out of heaven to earth its I 1 enemies in order to make any headway have to violate established principles of truth and equity and while they invent new methods in jurisprudence and new rules of legal interpretation terp they run ran full in the face of the most sacred guaranties guarantees guaran ties of oatlie the constitution which courts and officers as well as private individuals are under obligations to regard as the supreme law of the land |