The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-06-23

into the Union with constitution and laws authoriz
ing polygsmy Here would be an effort to engraft
the system Of concubnage which has destroyed all
and prevented the feeblest development of civ
ilization in the Eastern world upon our western
civilization, and what would be more monstrous still
upon our republican polity. The system of monog-
amy coextensive with civilization and christianity
The system of poygamy is coextensve with heather
ism and barbarity. The question is, whether that
form of government be republican which au-
thorzes poygamy and substitutes the Harcm for the
Family?
The Family is the foundation of the Republic. In
polity we have three cornerstone institutions
the Family, the State, and the Confederacy. Without
the family, the State cannot be republican and un
less the government of the State be republican, it
cannot under the constitution it cannot in the ma
ture of things, be member of the confederacy
Should new State present itself therefore, for adj
mission into the Union, authorizing a principle so
much at war, not merely with republication, but
with civilization ITSELF as polygamy; it would not
only be competent for Congress- but obligatory upon
it, to inquire whether admission should not be de-
nisd for the that the form of government was
not republican,
3. And this brings us to the third peculiarly of
the Mormon systemic wit, its theocratc govern
ment 1t is probably the duty of Congress to guar
antee republican form of government to the Ter
rores of the Union Gncipient States) as well as to
the matured States but whether this be so or not
the fact is certain that the Mormon theocracy has
crushed out every semblance of popular government
in Utah. This is not subject in which the Presi-
dent can of his own motion interfere or in which he
can possibly have any intention to interfere. But
whatever may be done left undone in this regard
previously to the application of Utah for admission into
the Union; yet, in she shall apply for admission
Mormon State, with her present theocratic sys-
tenn of government still dominant Congress would
have to determine whether her government be repub-
ican in regard to this feature less than we have
it would have to do in regard to the practice of
polygamy.
On this most interesting subject, Doctor Lieber,
our profoundest writer political science and cas-
uistry made these pertinent remarks six or eight
years ago. Speaking Of the liberty of conscience he
said
'As to that unhappy and most remarkable sect called
the Mormons, who have sprung up and consolidated
themselves Wltnln country ana who doubtless
become troublesome when sufficiently to call
for admission into the Union take 1t that the DO
litica trouble they may give cannot arise from religious
grounds whether they have fallen back into Buddhism
making their god pcrfectble being with parts and 10
cal dwelling become direct political question
however 1t may indirectly affect society i'm all its parts
The potent question which will afford great difficulty
will be, whether Mormon State with its theo demo
cratic government, as they term it. be called re-
public in the in which constitution guarantees
it to every member of the Union 1t will then proba-
bly, for the first time in history become necessary legally
to define what republic is. The other difficulty will
arise out of the question which every honest man will
pul TO himself admit a State a society of men
who deny the very first principle, not of our COM
mon law, but of our whole western civilization as con-
radistinguished to oriental eof that whole ciyliza
ton in which we have being, and which is the pre-
cous first product of Christianity and integrity de-
ny monogamy"
1t is altogether unnecessary to lay down, in this
connection, any nice definition Of what republican
government is, in the meaning of the federal consti-
tuition 1t is enough to say that it is popular govern
men the government of all the citizens of the State
as distinguished from aristocracy, an cligarchy,
a monarchy, despotsm, hierarchy, or theocracy.
The Mormon government is undeniably of one or an
other of the latter class it is not republican in form
and does not conform, either in spirit in FORM or in
fact to the requirements of the constitution in this re-
gard.