New-York tribune., 1871-11-18
THE MORMON PROSECUTIONS
A WORD III THEIR DEFENsE-FoPCLAR ERRORS
REGARDING THEM ~ &
TO me gdtIor Of The TrfbU"e, T.
s,e. correspondent Of yours at this place

writes or tclegraphsi
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ALLOW me 10 show thar tb an assumption unSusainea
and unsustalnable By PARTICLE OF proof Nothing ThAH
ever was offered on the trial Of Hawkins 70 suste'n
1t was not even attempted There is notnfnR IN Tue
Atatnte itSeh 10 show that thOSe who maoe Du "o'
precisely whst they said. no more nor IenE ~ ~
Mexican charged hs Jury. There is no proof put
testimony that the psn who framed tho statue were
poysnmists. either In theory practice; anu tna'
testimony has not been adduced yet IN thS conSPso"S
doubtless from the knowledge that II W0Wu n"s anu
Ought not 70 have any weight
WHIT Beeause from tho organization OF the mormon
church In 1890 70 Aug 9 1857 about six months atter the
apnrovA of this statute every Mormon leader, priest
publcst preacher missionary, agent conference boOk
or periodical that alluded 70 the SUBJECT at ALL eASSed
pOygaIny as fornaOne or adultery or lasciVloup Co
Labitation almost in the identical language OF this stat
ute denounced and condemned It az gross crime, de-
oied Indignantly that the church believed taught, or
practced t. and characterized the charge that 1t did as
malicious caumDy Of its enemies. On one occasion JO-
.nb Smith himself John Taylor, willard Richards, and
other leading MOrmOnS, made oath before civil ma1s-
rate 1t Carthage Ill, to this effect Lt me cite their
history on this point
In 1880 the Book Of Mormon was pubESned, which
plcity condemns pOlygamy In divers places declaring
ID TO bo abOnable before the Lord and forbdding its
practice The next year the Book Of Doctrines and Gov
.nants was published, which also pOntedy condemns It,
cpeatedly In 1874 Joseph and Hyrum Smith publicly
denounced and expelled from the Church one Hiram
Brown. for preaching nOlygamy and other false and
corrupt doctrines" o. appears Of record In The TueS
md Seasons Church paper ct NauVOO, vol 8, p E1S.
shortly aerward HyFHm Smith repeated this denuncia-
ion aud population OF p0lygsmy IN tho same paper
vol g. D. I7L In iSS TS AiiLsRHtaI Star, Mormon organ
1t Liverpool. vol 9, p. "a, characterized spiritual
Rifery" - doctrine Of devils and sedneipg spirits,
nut another for whOredOm, wicked and unlawful
connection and every kind Of confusion corruption, ana
Lomnation." In the following year the European Con-
ference repudated both doctrine and practice In the
strongest terms.
In lsIs The Aennial Star vol TO- r. IS7. called down
he vengeance Of HeaVea on all the liars who charged
such OdlOus praoricee - spiritual Wifery and pO-
ygamy" upon the Church, saying; "In all ages Of the
church the truth has beoA turned into lie, and the
yraee Of God converted into ascvOusness by men who
lave sought to make gain Of gOdlines and feed their
usts on the creduy Of the righteous and unsupcious
Sext TO the long haCkneyed and bugabOO Whperngs OF
,Oygism Is another abOminatOn that sometimes shows
Ia serpentine crosts, which shall call sexual resur
recOn Tho doctrines Of corrupt spirits are always In
,lose affinity with each other, whether they consist In
priua wlfesm sexual resurrection, gross lsscivious
less the unavoidable separation Of husbands and wives,
,r the communism Of property" In 1850 Elder John
TAYLOR held discussion OF BouloEne, France,
with three English olergymen They quoted from
Iome anti Mormon works, just then published, charging
he Church with pOlygamy 10 which Taylor replied:
We are accused here Of pOygamy and actions the most
ndecate obscene, and disgusting, such that none but
corrupt heart could have contrYed These htnRs are
30 outrageous to admit Of belefj therefore bhAn
ent myself by reading from work published by us,
containing some Of the articles Of our faith" He then
ead from the section entitled Marriage" " "InRsrnuch
"A this Church Of Christ has been reprOached with TIE
riRe Of JOrncGtOH and POlvgdNV We declare that we
believe that one man should have one wife, and one
woman but husband except In case OF deatn, When
,ther s at liberty to marry again" This u from the
appendix to Doctrines and Covenants which was adopted
N full Conference the year after smiths death-lsb
This is the kind Of testimony the MOrmOnA bore TO the
world touching poly Eamy from their very start down to
Aug 2s 1852, six months after the approval Of this
famous statute when they first changed their tune and
syowed II as part Of their religious belief and practice
TO this date we have sean they steadily condemned
poygamy and denied that they taught believed In, or
oractoed IT, There 10 conflicting testimony It is all
one way and sworn 70 OF that. Suppose they should
oow make oath that at the time OF the ensctng OF said
statute or at any time pOygamy was part OF their re-
dgion, and its practice commanded them Of God as q
means Of grace could be regarded as evidencef 30,
npOn what prinoiplet
What proof then can be adduced that those who made
mi, statute intended 70 except adultery and laScvous
,obabIton when called "polygamy" from Its operatiOni
{. not the assumption that they did 50 intend more vio
ent than the assumption that they did mott They
Ndnt except Il in the statute sefi venture the asser
don that there s nothing In the Legislative Journals 70
,how that they had such thoughts and for twenty-five
,ears extending beyond the passage Of the staute BY
liz months they themselves had never referred 70
soyRasny but in language almost Identical with that
u tbs statute, TO wit: Doctrine Of devils, forncaton'
Ehcredom gross lasCiviOusness, wicked and unlawful
connection, etc., etc.
he only question that remains iS Are we bound-wRs
~ IA the Government boundin the pending prosecution
II Hpolygsmyo take into account what has been svoWed
Iyerred and done NinOs by these Sppery men tn do
nng the intent Of the Legislature which passed the
tstIte referred tot Would II not be giving them more
consideration than they entitled to demand under
ihe circumstances to do S0t II might be more
IesirGblo, perhaps 70 proceed under the Anti
Polygamy act Of Congress, but II u impossible
,ecsuse no legal proof can be procured Of iss
5iolation; and that chtehy because the AormOn's
,pdovent oath abs0ves him from all others whatsoever
70 that he viii go before grand Jury and peure him.
Ief by the mouth to serve his Church Nor can Con-
rress mend the matter. 1t Is - bad to disregard the
orns Of law and justOs 10 one direction another.
Congress couldn't II it would make proof legal that iGnt
era TO meet special eaSs. even the cOnfeSsedly bad
nes Of the MormOns So that IL would the prose-
sutton for poyEamy must proceed under this statute
freak down entirely