The Daily state register. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1870-1872, 1871-10-24
POLYGAMY PUNISHABLE AS ADUL.
Terry,

Gus if not fatal blow by the verdict
of the jury in the Hawkins ease at
Salt Lake. Hawkins wasa Mormon.
married to three wives. The prose
cution was based upon the charge of
adultery committed with the last two
wives married by Hawkins. the COM
plainant being the first wife. The
jury found Il verdict of guilty.
As this was the first case of this
kind which has gone before the Courts
Of Utah its progress has been
watched with intense interest not
only by those most interested in the
result, but by the public throughout
the country. If this prosecution
could be made a success it would es-
tablish a precedent olninous of dis
aster to nearly every Mormon house
hold. Hawkins convicted, what
polvgamist could consider himself
safe from prosecution? If the de-
PENDANT in that case was guilty, he
was criminal in common with a ma
jority ofthe malepopulation of Utah.
Not all, Of course, fora large portion
of the followers of Brigham who ac-
cepted p~olygamy as a divine r%evela-
ton and viewed it as a step il spirit
ual e1altation, havenever practically
adopted it, deferred by lack of pecu-
MARY mean or natural feeling. To
these this verdict is an admonition-
TO others an evil potent.
The prosecution of this Hawkins
ease developed numerous interesting
legal questions, some of which Will
probably receive a final solution in
a higher court-possibly in the
highest court of the country. Among
these was that of the right of the
wife to give testimony against her
husband-the question whether or
not the common law had ever
been adopted in Utah, and if not
whether in the absence of any local
legislation, any legal marriages had
ever been consummated in that Ter
ritory-the claims guaranteed by the
treaty of Guadalope-Hidalgo con
frming religious rights heretofore
enjoyed, etc. But the principal
point set up by the defense, and in
our opinion the strongest that can be
made, was hat of intent. Hawkins
was indicted under a Territorial
statute-nOt underline Congressional
act of 1S62-and that statute was
passed by a Mormon Legislature,
most of whose members were polyg-
amists, and was signed by Brigham
Young while Governor Of Utah. To
give that statute the construction
claimed by the prosecution was clear
" to invest it with a meaning never
intended by its authors. 50 with
Hawkins himself. Was there an
intent to violate the law when he took
to himself a second or third wife
this being done prior to 1862? At
that time there was neither Con-
gressional nor Territorial prohibi-
tions against plural marriages.
These marriages were recognized as
valid not only by the Church, but
by the Legislative, executive, and lu-
dicial authorities of the Territory,
as well as by general usage and COM
mon consent. Under such circum-
stances it was scarcely reasonable to
impute an intent to commit Il criml-
nal offense-and without such irten-
ton the first element of a crime was
wanting. To convict Hawkins,
therefore, it was necessary to give q
statute a different meaning from that
intended by its authors, and to i'm
pute an evil intention where the re-
verse was known to exist. The pre-
siding Judge in excluding all
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