Show OATH AND SPEECH THIC fax iowa saints herald organ of the Is rn much aeh concerned about the oath provided for or in the new law it rejoiced when the measure measure was enacted aad and has endorsed the most infamous and unjust legislative schemes schemes for foe the enslavement 91 this territory and now it feels vexed and scandalized ed because the majority of the people here intend to take jhb course provided in tle tie law toy by which they can retain the balance of local power as against a band of conspirators leagued to accomplish accompli sh the overthrow of majority rule aud and ob tain opportunities to plunder the territory how a paper professing what the herald does can justify its approve al of a law that summa summarily deprives a whole class of voters of the suffrage women who have broken no law w we are at a loss to understand in regard to the he oath it utters a great deal of nonsense after quoting some remarks from the and xe merald rold of this city and asks these questions it if the mornion Mor naon with more livies than one could not honorably promise the courts of the land that he would observe the law and would riot not break the law himself nor counsel others to do so can the same man now no wake t aad the oath prescribed if men who believe it to be right to marry more than one wife would have committed an error against conscience by promising the courts that he would woul d not break the law of 1882 nor teach others to so ft do can the same earn e man ww now take this oath the anarchists ar rested and orfed at chicago relied upon the idea that unless wey we y were pen implicated with the actual murder of the chicago policemen they could not be justly condemned for or the riot of that memorable may fth but the law stated that an accessory is he who stands by and aids abets or assists or who not being present hath advised aided or abetted the perpetration of the crime if the writer of the foregoing had an ordinary understanding of the law of the or situation he would not ask such boolish questions and if he be had a common comprehension of legal principle he would not attempt to quote the definition of an accessory toa to a f crime as an argument against the r right 9 h t of voters to preach and advocate t their 1 ir religious belief although they take an oath to obey the law and not bot aid or advise its violation A mormon with wore more wives than one is not expected to take the auth prescribed it would be of no benefit beneat to him ithe it if he did take it no matter how willing lie he might be to obey the law in future tiia status as a polygamist would debar aim from the exercise of the elective franchise this is ie settled by the edmunds law as well as the new act of congress and by the ruling of the supreme court of the united states in the cases against the utah commissioners A mormon with more mere wives than oue one 11 though he does not live liva with either ef them holds toe tile status of a polygamist nader thi the law and no bi bigamist adist or polygamist i can v vote er cr h hol domoe under the united states or this territory no M matter atter ho how w many oaths he may take or promises pro mists ne he ina may give to obey the law in the future me this effectually settles the petals presented in the two queries propounded but supposing a mormon i oell la in the situation a described bed would be eligible to vote it if he ae took the oath still he be could not lionor honorably ably make the promse required for the reason that he ae has married more wives than one under sacred covenants chilt involve certain eternal obligations and if he were to violate them he would be dishonorable in kid his own eyes in tile the view of hi bis a own family 11 aud and co religionists and in the sight or of god and the holy angela angel atae tion of a mormon who has bas heyer taken upon himself uch such obligations and responsibilities is I 1 en entirely different and he who cann cannot ot touch on this thi qui question stion without confounding the tw 6 situations is incapable of the intelligently it Is useless to argue with so dense denee an antagonist the anarchists at chicago did some thing more than advocate on OB funeral principles the right of the people to do 0 without teaching a doctrine arid and advising an act are two totally different things with the former tue the law has nothing to do of the latter it can take lake cognizance and MY may proceed against it an accessory to a crime la is one wao either aided and so as aisted sis in a particular offence offense committed by some person or persons or advised and encouraged its it 8 commission there must be some ov overt ert act against the constitute the crime and something done by the accessory ac cessor to help or counsel the doing of that particular deed to give the law ga an op port unity to aft the herald writer cannot understand how a man mall who has taken the oath can caa affery afterwards yards beaco advocate aud and defend blarel marriage as the has said he may with 1 th out indirectly citing men to commit one oae of the crimes crimea named in the law we cannot furnish that a thinker but we can make some parallels that will perhaps aid him or I 1 others who do not see clearly to grasp the idea correctly su suppose polls a law was enacted beclar ns mat at any person who or received baptism by total immersion of the bod body yaa la water should bt be guilty at a misdemeanor and on conviction of the offense be punished with fine ano and imprisonment A preacher could publicly and privately ad advocate and aad defend immer immersion 1014 as the only correct mode of baitt baptism m sh show ow that it was wad instituted by byais divine e command cite the example exa gaple which scripture affords and point out toe the detect defects I 1 ia a other methods improperly called baptism and the constitutional guaranties guarantees guaran ties of freedom of belief and of ef speech would protect him bublo in his ministry but bat if he committed the overt act el al immersing a convert he be would then be a breaker ot of the law and it he helped the candidate down into the water or advised a believer to 0 go and aad submit to baptism he be would become an accessory and d quid could be punished with the prin hal al but some violation vIola tilon of thelah the law emst st be committed or there would be oclther ther principal nor accessory and aad it i an oath w were ere required as ad a prerequisite to voting ad and holding office that the voter would obey the law and would w not aid or or advise its lox a believer in immersion could take the oat oath and d still advocate his belief and ep ag as chedid he did not commit the offence offense himself pr or help or advise others to do so he could not bp be made either in an offender against the law or a breaker the oath dimpled imposed upon him we might offer other 11 illustrations rations of v various arlo kinds but the principle I 1 n ae I 1 I 1 would il id be the same A idi disciple me I 1 0 ot t 1 co toe e re henry n ry george a and ad dr 1 an heresy hereby way may advocate freely the principles those agitators advance in regard to property in ladd but he be must not i proceed to carry them into practice praet ice of gecorve become an accessory to such an ac those theorists proclaim the doctrine that I 1 the theland should be taken away frosa from its 0 owner o without compensation com p A and they may freely teach their heir ri notie otts jis in public md aad in private ad acid the law cannot touch them wilt but it if they were t to 0 dispossess some person or persons or advise or abet other in such uch ign overt act they would at once be be liable to prosecution abw od the detthof dep which the enemies of the latter at r day this nation to reach and which strange to say a pretended believer in the doctrines of joseph smith the prophet favors in public print has not yet been descended to no muzzle has yet been put upon the lips of a believer in the order ot of celestial marriage taught and practised practiced by the beeroth beer ot the nineteenth century and shame ought to cover thu the face of any one professing to be a follower of that champion of civil and religious liberty who would for a moment seek beek to seal the lips of a preacher pr oacher by law or bind with chains toe the press that advocates a doctrine ob to his notion of propriety and rigal rig we maintain the position behave we have taken on taken on this question from tue start the law relates to overt sets acts there is no law against belief there is none against the free ex expression assion of that belief he who agrees to obey the law does not promise to become dumb as to his faith norto nor to close his lips while others assail his opinions aud and this view was entertained by the chief managers ot of tte the law in congress though it does not seem to suit its original promoters the conspirators a of f utah and appear to disturb the very C charitable han table sud consistent consist eat org orianof organ arief of the so called jose Josephite phineo Bat at lamoni iowa |