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Show "MY NAME IS MINER! I'm a Lawyer!" And Aurelius Lays Down the Law-to the Court, With the Side Remark That There Is ,v More Polygamy Going1 On in Boston Than in Utah. But the Great 'Constitutional Expounder Ex-pounder is Sat Down Upon by ''- Zane's Usual Three-Six. The District Court-room was filled to its utmost capacity this morning with the usual attendants upon the unlawful cohabitation co-habitation trials. Immediately upon order being called, the Grand Jury came into court and presented some results of their labors. Commissioner McKay, now assistant acting prosecuting attorney, stated - to ihe Court that the Grand Jury expected to adjourn one week from next Monday morning for . three weeks, and that there was a lady now held for refusing re-fusing to answer certain questions of the Grand Jury. No disposition was made of the matter. The jury then returned to their sanctum with instructions to hold themselves in readiness to a call by the foreman. Court Mr. Varian, have you any business busi-ness to proceed with ? Varian This is the day set for the sentencing sen-tencing of Mr. Miner and Newsom. The Miner case was taken ud "bv Mr. Kirkpatrick, who introduced a motion for a new trial on the ground that no offense alleged in the indictment had been shown, and that the instructions were void on account of uncertainty about the name of the alleged second "wife of the defendant. v Miner then wielded the battle ax in his own behalf. He adjusted his glasses in a most classic manner, struck an expressive ex-pressive attitude, and proceeded to talk at considerable length without saying anything. any-thing. He endeavored to show that the Court had wrongly instructed the jury in charging them relative to the name of his second wife Ann, Anna, Annie, Lizzie, Nancy, Nan, and other nicknames, by which certain of the witnesses recognized the lady. Miner claimed that when the prosecution found that the right name was other than given in the indictment, they had no authority to go further and insert a clause covering every possible doubt in the case. After dealing out a tiresome amount of instructions to the prosecution for their benefit in the cases to follow, the conceited pettifogger sat down, amidst a sigh of. relief from all present. While nothing of material consequence had been set up for the prosecution to tear down, still, Mr. Varian stated that he presumed the allegation against the names alluded to in the indictment formed the cause for the motion. He thought the evidence given by the mother, moth-er, father, sister and others of the family amply sufficient to satisfactorily identify the lady called Sarah, Jane, Ann, or what else, as the second wife of defendant, defend-ant, which establishes the desired fact of unlawful cohabitation with her. The testimony adduced in the trial showed that the lady in question was the proper person known as Elizabeth Ann, or Annie Adams, and the second wife of Mr. Miner, and on this point rests the whole matter. The Court referred to the name of Annie An-nie Adams as it appeared in the indictment, indict-ment, and that the lady's mother testified that she was recognized by that name in the family, although she was frequently called Lizzie, Nancy, Ann and other names, all of which referred to the same idental person, and to none other. This fanf r.ia clinnrn Jr. -j omj n m mc ciuao-ejuillllliaiion . by the defense. "I am satisfied that Annie An-nie is often a nick-name for Ann, as May is for Mary, but in this case the desired ' point of establishing establish-ing the identity on the right person as the plural wife of the defendant was done, no matter under what name. I remember that Judge Harkness presented some objections ob-jections to my instructions to the jury about their finding a verdict on account of this name 'Annie,' as it appeared in the indictment. I then and there inserted in-serted certain provisos. The Court is of the opinion that the establishment of the name Ann for. Annie is not material where the person charged is identified. The evidence seemed sufficient to show that Mr. Miner lived with these two women as his wives, add the jury seemed to believe from the evidence that this woman", under whatever name, was the person referred to in the charge. The 'defendant has been seen at the house of this alleged plural wife, where he has stopped and taken meals a portion of the time, and where the second wife hasji young child bearing his name.". Miner I desire to cite a couple of points. I may have a wife and she may die to-day. Within three years I marry another woman. Then I am violating this Edmunds act just as much as I am now charged with breaking it. Here the talkative U. C. lawyer turned himself loose again. - He spoke of the far greater consecutive polygamous practices prac-tices existing in the cultured city of Boston Bos-ton alone than in all Utah. This law said he, under which I am arraigned, is faulty, as it does not refer to divorced or deceased wives. u-: The Court informed Miner that reason must be exercised in all matters of law and that if a man continued to live in the marriage relation with his divorced wife in the plural number he was guilty of unlawful un-lawful cohabitation just the same. And that the entombed did not enter into the question at hand. The Court informed the defendant that the motion for an arrest ar-rest of judgment was overruled, and Miner was ordered to stand up.- - Coa?;t Are you prepared to say that yu vnll obey and maintain" the laws of the United States in the future, especially especi-ally the statutes governing unlawful cohabitation? Miner If your Honor please, while I am a native-born citizen of these United States ever since I reached my majority I have never promised to obey all the laws of the Government. For the past 35 years, since I became old enough to vote, I have said I would not obey some of the statutes. The Fugitive slave law I would never obey. I would not become a nigger-catcher. -1 vowed I would not ,obey such laws, and did not, but stood ready to take the consequences. I regarded all such laws as unconstitutional unconstitution-al when I practiced at the bar in Ohio, and I have the right to obey or reject a law ust the same as a community has which helps to form this country. I have learned by observation that the is a higher tribunal. J The "Missouri compromise act" was resisted, which caused agitation and a terrible struggle, but the rejectors triumphed. I believe and uphold the country's laws.but so far as the requirements of your Honor are concerned, con-cerned, I do not think them just. There is a law reaching into the dominion of morals into which the Constitution of the United fetatesis not permitted to trespass. tres-pass. ,. Here Judge Zane showed that he was being made very weary by so much out-of-the-way talk, and perhaps thought to close the long twaddle by asking- the stump speaker if he thought it riht for one man to kill another. Miner said the crime of murder was laid down by Blackstone, and then went through with a lot of parrot gibberish which was so much Chinese to those listening. lis-tening. - The Court informed him that he was not the one to interpret the laws. That part of the work rested in other hands. Miner then rattled off a lot of an old-time old-time campaign speech about the Republican Republi-can party and their trespasses into the sacred domain of-religious belief. As the Latter-day spirit progressed within the speaker, "he said that Congress had no right to pass such laws as are being enforced en-forced here in Utah. It was all wrong, and he knew it. " The Judge asked the agitated U. C. if he believed it right for a man to cohabit with his neighbor's. wife. ; - '"' Miner That is a moral crime. Court Suppose a man cohabits in the plural marriage relation with his neighbor's neigh-bor's daughter? Miner (laughing) That is all right, so long as they agree to it, as there is nothing against it in the decalogue. As a man, citizen and lawyer I observe the laws, but regarding my religious views, I hawe the right of choice. Since my childhood I have tried kTabide by one of Solomon's sayings. Court. Don't waste time in recalling all the conduct of Solomon. He was a pretty hard customer in some respects. I understand that you take the position to determine what are laws of the United States and what are not? Miner Yes, sir; as a citizen I do. Court If every citizen undertook to do so we would have no laws at' all. Anything Any-thing wrong must be corrected. Congress has the right to prohibit evil, and probably prob-ably knows what is right. You . say you are a citizen and a lawyer. The Government Govern-ment dofts nnt; wnnr-mon tn ovnnnnrl fV.o law or practice the same who will not obey the laws. Your position in the courts aggravates your case, though you may not know what the law is. You are sentenced to six months' im prisonment and to pay a fine of $300 and the costs of the court. You will stand committed until the fine is paid. The Court proceeded by saying that in respect to the other question, he would direct the clerk to make out a copy of this decree and of the reporter's notes to be filed against defendant Miner to show cause in answer, at 10 o'clock next Saturday Sat-urday morning, why. he should not be disbarred from practice as an attorney. Miner's countenance dropped at the thought of, such humiliation and he tried to apologize, but choked off for want of something to say. He was put in charge of a deputy and went in search of Dr. Taggart to get permission to retain his frosted beard from the cruel shears of the convict barber. . The polygamous case of the United States against William D. Newsom was brought up at 2 o'clock this afternoon. It was expected that the defendant would receive sentence for the two counts of which he was found guilty, but Mr. Kirkpatrick, Kirk-patrick, as counsel for the P. and U. C, moved for a new trial on the grounds that the Court misdirected the jury in matters of law; that the Court erred in the decision ot questions of law arising during the course of the trial : that the verdict is contrary to law,, and' that there is newly-discovered evidence material ma-terial to the defendant and which he could not, with reasonable diligence, have discovered and produced at the trial. Affidavits were produced by the defense de-fense from Mrs. Sarah Ann Denny, Mrs. Fanny Austin, Robert Swain, Oliver S. Walsh, Ann Morris, Richard Smythe and Thomas Jones. Mrs. Denny certified that she lived on First South, near Eighth East; knew defendant de-fendant and Lucy Devereaux, the alleged plural wife ; met Lucy about the last of November, 1881, and went to the Endowment Endow-ment House with her; met Newsom aud Lucy together often after 1881, at ward meetings and parties, and they appeared to be married. Mrs. Fanny Austin stated that she employed em-ployed Lucy from 1881 to 1883. Lucy once got permission to be absent for a day, and said she was going through the Endowment House. Robert Swain, just sent to the Pen for U. C, certified that he was a stone mason on the Temple block ; knew Newsom well ; defendant came to him in 1881 and borrowed bor-rowed an endowment suit such as is used by those going through the sealing process. pro-cess. Newsom returned the garments two days afterwards. Oliver S. Walsh lives in the Twenty-First Twenty-First ward; knows both Lucy 'and defendant: de-fendant: Lucy lived ten years at his home in England; in November, 1881, he met Newsom and Lucy in the Endowment Endow-ment House in this city. About Christmas Christ-mas of 1881 Lucy said she was married to Newsom., Ann Morris, a widow in the Eleventh vard. met Newsom and Lucy together in the Endowment House,, and believed them married. . . R. Smythe, of -Goddard & Co.: Newsom New-som introduced Lucy to him as his plural wife in March, 1882. Thomas J ones, stone-cutter on Temple block, saw Newsom. and Lucy: come out of the Endowment House in 1881. Mr. Kirkpatrick then set forth the reasons rea-sons for a new trial, and was followed bv Mr. Varian for the prosecution, who claimed that the affidavits failed to set forth anything material to the-case and were irrelevant and superfluous. |
