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Show THE THINGS OF CESAR. In a recent interview with a reporter of !the New York Pout, rishop John Sharp, in response to the question, "Has the : church excommunicated you ?' said : t :" No, it has not, and I have not escommnni- I cited the church. If you have done talking j about railroads and mines, let me tell you I w.ere I have always stood in patriotism and i religion. I propose to render nnto Csesar , the things that are Caesar's, and unto God r lhe ngs that are God's, and I shall be greatly mistaken if my co-religionists do not come to the same conclusion as to their dutv Ihere has always been less polvgamv in ttah than is supposed, and of lateuo plural marriages have occurred. Nothing more can be done to enforce lhe law. It is fully enforced en-forced now. Anything more would onlv uselessly aggravate the people. You will see thHt nil will come out right lefore long, ii . There is much common sense in this, and would Bishop Sharp but proclaim this doctrine in Utah and urge it upon his co-religionists, he would soon find that he had a big following. ; It is true that if he were to do this the probabilities are that he would be formally excommunicated from his church ; but he would do much to save his people. Bishop Sharp fully recognizes the force of the Savior's remark, re-mark, -and realizing that,he has rendered to Caesar the tilings that are Caesar's. That is all the Government of the United ' States asks, and it asks this because it is its right. Bishop Sharp says he thinks that his co-religionists will come to the same conclusion as regards their duty that he did. We trust they may,' . and that they may come to . tliat conclusion voluntarily and speedily. If they do not come to this conclusion this conclusion will come to them, and come in a way that is irresistible. Will they not see or must tliey be made to see the consequences conse-quences of persisting in violating the laws of their country? Why do they not loiiow the example of .Bishop Sharp and save themselves while there is 3ret time ? We do not agree with Bishop Sharp in all he says, for we think something more can be done to enforce the law. Neither would it aggravate the people uselessly if the prosecuting force were increased and the law more extensively enforced. It would cause the people to more quickly realize that the Government is in earnest; and that it would be better for them to conform their ways to the ways of the law. If people will not respect the majesty maj-esty of the law they must be made to fear the power of the law. Laws are not made to abridge people's rights nor to impose hardships upon them, and the laws which are obnoxious to the people of Utah were made for the preservation of society. What Bishop Sharp meant by his remark that all would come out right before long is hard to say. Did he mean to convey the idea that the church is about to officially renounce the practice of polygamy? In the light of recent events such may be the case. We sincerely sin-cerely hope it is. Before a new year rolls around there will undoubtedly have been a great change in matters in Utah one way or the other. |