The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-07 00:00:00

POLYGAMY.

We are glad to see that Mr. Bowles' experiences
of polygamy among the Mormons is just what we
should expect. •
" The result of the whole experience has been to
increase my appreciation of the value of their ma-
terial progress and development to the nation ; to
evoke congratulations to them and to the country
for the wealth they have created, and the order, fru-
gality, morality, and industry that have been orga-
nised in this remote spot in our Continent; to excite
wonder at the perfection and power of their church
system, the extent of its ramifications, the sweep
of its influence ; and to enlarge my respect for the
personal sincerity and character of many of the
leaders in the organisation ; also, and on the other
hand, to deepen my disgust at their polygamy, and
strengthen my convictions of its barbaric and de-
grading influences. They have tried it and prac-
tised it under the most favourable circumstances,
perhaps under the mildest form possible ; but, now
as before, here as elsewhere, it tends to and means
only the degradation of woman. By it, and under
it, she becomes simply the servant and serf, not the
companion and equal of man ; and the inevitable
influence of this upon all society need not be de-
picted."
There are doubtless some " lazy louts" in indus-
trious England who will like this picture :
" In many cases the Mormon wives not only sup-
port themselves and their children, but help to sup-
port their husbands. Thus a clerk or other man,
with similar limited income, who has yielded to the
fascinations and desires of three or four women, and
married them all, makes his home with number one,
perhaps, and the rest live apart, each by herself,
taking in sewing or washing, or engaging in other
employment, to keep up her establishment and be
no charge to her husband. lie comes around, once
in a while, to make her a visit, and then she sets
out an extra table and spends all her accumulated
earnings to make him as comfortable and herself
as charming as possible, so that her fraction of the
dear sainted man may be multiplied as much as
possible. Thus the fellow, if he is lazy and has
turned his piety to the good account of getting
smart wives, may really board around continually,
and live in clover, at no personal expense but his own
clothing. Is not this a divine institution, indeed ?"
Our space is already more than exhausted, and
yet we have reached only the 130th/page of Mr.
BOWLES' admirable volume. Let us take him at a
jump from Salt Lake to San Francisco, and then
hear what he says

" Across the Continent ! The Great Ride is
finished. Fifteen hundred miles of railroad, two
thousand of staging, again sixty miles of railway,
and then one hundred and fifty miles by steamboat
down the Sacramento River, and the goal is reached,
the Continent is spanned. Seven weeks of steady
journeying, within hail of a single parallel line from
east to west, and still the Republic ! Still the old
flag—the town is gay with its beauty to-day—still
the same Fourth of July ; better than all, still the
same people, with hearts aglow with the same
loyalty and pride in the American Union, and the
same purpose and the same faith for its future.
" Greater the wonder grows at the extent of the
Republic ; but larger still our wonder at the myste-
rious but unmistakable homogeneity of its people.
San Francisco, looking westward to the Orient for
greatness, cooling its summer heats with Pacific
breezes, thinks the same thoughts, breathes the
same patriotism, burns with the same desires that
inspire New York and Boston, whose out-look is
eastward, and which seem to borrow their civilisa-
tion with their commerce from Europe. Sacra-
mento talks as you do in Springfield ; Nevada,
over the mountains, almost out of the world, anti-
, cipates New England in her judgments, and makes
up her verdict, while those close to the " Hub of the
Universe" are looking over the testimony.
" It is this that is the greatest thing about our
country ; that makes it the wonder of nations, the
marvel of history—the unity of its people in ideas
and purpose ; their quick assimilation of all emi-
gration—come it so far or so various ; their simul-
taneous and similar currents of thought, their spon-
taneous, concurrent formation and utterance of a
united Public Opinion. This is more than extent
of territory, more than wealth of resource, more
than beauty of landscape, more than variety of cli-
mate and productions, more than marvellous mate-
rial development, more than cosmopolitan popula-
tions, because it exists in spite of them, and con-
quers theni all by its subtle electricity."