National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-10-16
HoRNoH "a VS. AND DOCTRINES.
BLOOD AToNEMENT AND POLYGAM,
REFERRED TO THE GRAND JURY u

BLOND AIONEMLNI. AND FDLLGAMX
REFERRED TO THE GRAND JURY IN
UTAH.
The United states Court Of the Third judicial
district, Chief Justice Mexican presiding. met at
Salt Lake City on the 9th instant. for the mrs.
time since the passage OF the Poland bill By the
last session Of Congress. There was some din
Guilty IN empanneling the grand Jury, because the
district attorney insisted upon strictly legal quail
iications. New York Herald correspondent
says:
The first point was clearly against the assump-
tion that the Church could ordain the penalty Of
death for apostaoy from the faith or for any trans
erosion Of Its moral eode and the second was the
capacity OF G juror to indict q Mormon for taking
3 second or tenth wife. since the passage Of the
Congressional law Of 1852 against polygamy. A
stranger. TO the controversy that has agftated
Utah so long would have been greatly amused IN
witnessing the empannellng Of this Jury. "A gen
tleman Of unblemished moral life and high COM
mercial standing, when hterrogated on his CO
pacity 70 indict polygamist, frankly aYowed
that In HIS Judgment spoly gamy was no erfms"-
only far As made 90 By the statute referred to.
JUDGE N'KEAx's CHARGE.
Judge Mexican commenced Is follows
GKETLENEE or THE GRAND JURY: The Su-
preme Court Of California has said, acourts are
bound to take notice Of the political and social
condition Of the country which they IudIeially
Montesquieu, says, In his Esprit Of Laws 81
shall first examine the relation which laws have
to the nature and principle Of each government;
laws shall make It my business to understand
It thoroughly, and i'll can but once establish Il
sn o bsr ss e bsss ns0s e
principles IN mind, It is incumbent on YOU gen
tlemen, and upon me, 70 remember where We
us, and what are our duties touching them. In
passing the act 70 organise this TERRITORY, Con
gress took the precauton to invest the Governor
with the power OF an absolute veto Of any law
that might be passed by the legislative Assem-
bly,. President Fillmore, then, BY and with the
advice and consent Of the Senate, appointed
Brigham Young to be Governor Of the Territory,
and that Governor continued in that once during
the administration Of President Pierce. Con
gress also provided that itno Law shall be passed
Interfering with the primary disposal Of the soil
But very soon thereafter the Legislative Assem-
bly, assumed to dispose Of vast tracts Of the pub
fetal Irrigation Is essential 10 nearly all agrical-
tural lands, and Of vast forests OF timber, though
such forests are far from numerous.
THE EEDERAL CONSTITUTION VIOLATED.
Following on through the entire term OF Nor
mon rule and the manner in which Brigham
Young assumed unEarranted authority, he con-
OF such legislation what shall be said7 IaQiz.
lation to exclude from Utah the authority Of Coke
Blackstone, Mansfield, Kent, Story and Marshall;
TO defraud the lawyer Of his Just compensation
the foremost champions Of liberty. the foremost
foes Of tyranny; and to send to the prison or the
galloWs the physician who, before prescribing for
his possibly dying patient, fails to stop and de-
liver lecture on materia medIca to the bystand-
ers. Language fails properly to characterize such
legislation The Constitution Of the United States
provides that Congress shall make no law re-
spectipg an establishment Of religion, or prohib-
iting the free exercise thereof" But the legisla-
tors OF Utah have passed ian ordinance ineorpo-
rating the Church of Jesus Christ Of Lstter-day
Saints'-establishing IL as the State Church, CIV
ing to Il most extraordinary and formidable DOW
ers, and In effect, prohibiting the free exercise Of
religion on the part Of seceders and dissenters.
BRIGHAM IKcITIEe TO NURDKRs.
hat h. 49,
denied enaetment3 / Will take time to unfold one
only Of the many doctrines wrapped up In It's YER
biage. Let the makers Of the Law be its common
tators. 1quote from the Journal Of Disc0urses
published by authority Of this Church and from
the Deseret Net1s, the Church of1cial organ.
Brig ham Young, in public diScourses, said:
to the line and Righteousness TO the plummet;
when we shall take the old broadswords, and
ask, Are you Tor GodG and II you are not heartily
on the Lords aide you Will be heWn down
There are sins which men commit for which they
cannot receive forgiveness in this world or In
that which Is 70 Gomez and If they had their eyes
opened to see their true condition they would be
perfectly willing 70 have their blood spilled upon
the ground, that the smoke thereof might ascend
smoking incense would atone for their sins;
whereas, II such Is not the case, they Will stick
to them and remain with them In the spirit world.
know, when you hear my brethren telling about
cutting people Of from the earth, that you con-
slider is strong doctrine; but It Is TO them,
not to destroy them. And, furthermore
knew themselves, and the only condition upon
which they can obtain forgiveness, would beg Of
their brethren to shed their blood, that the
smoke thereof might ascend to God as an Offering
to appease the wrath that Is kindled against
them, and that the law might have its course. I
will say, further, have had men come to me and
offer their lives to atone for their sins . .
There are sins that can be atoned for by offer
ing upon an altar, as in ancient days; and there
are sins that the blood Of lamb, or a calf or Of
turtle doves cannot remit, but they must be
atoned for BY the blood Of the man. = 1
could refer you TO plenty Of instances where men
have been righteously slain In order to atone for
their sins. IhAye seen scores and hundreds Of
people for whom there would have been q chance
lin the last resurrection there viii be) II their
IN, lives had been taken and their blood spilled on
might quote many similar utterances from the
Leaders Of the people Let these saee II is
to was approved, and the sentiments quoted were
uttered while Brigham Young was the Governor
to say nothing Of The Mountain MsSdoWs I m s
ere In my brother Boreman's district, or OF the
Morristte massacre in this district. Hundreds Of
murders have been perpetrated in pursuance Of
this legislation and this doctrine.
PoLYGAMT.
Thus far, gentlemen OF the grand Jury, have
made no mention of polygamy. Indeed, have
purposely omitted to mention It. / have wished
criminal and abomnable features Is far from being
the only evil that eonfronts us in Utah. Bat I
must not wholly omit to mention It. Utah was
Roman civil law and the statute law In Mexico
both condemned polygamy; the common law Of
England, some Of whose principles prevail here,
denOunee IL; Congress, in 1862, enacted statute
making 1t penal offence, and European and
American civilization utterly repudiate it. Not
Eithst9nding all this, polygamy largely prevails
In this Territory. and, contrary to the statements
OF some who would deceive the world and OF others
who arc themselves deceived, large numbers Of
men an1 women are steady going into II And
thus tar been dead letter. Its enforcement has
been defeated by perjury. The polygamous mar
riage is q secret ceremony. None are permitted
to be present but conspirators against the laws
and when they are called as witnesses they have
denied all knowledge OF it. lain would hope,
gentlemen, that you may elicit the truth, and
bring some Of these Influential pOlygamous GRIM
mails to the bar Of justice. II IS your duty to
labor earnestly to that end. And you will bear
in mind, gentlemen, that this Asiatie practice Of
pOlygamy goes hand In hand with the murderous
doctrine OF "blood atonemenkn Here Is q brief
paragraph from the heightened so-called reVela-
ton Of Joseph Smith:
sand again, as pertaining to the law Of the
priesthood: II any man espouses virgin and de-
sire to espouse another, and the first give her
consent; and II he espouse the second and they
are virgins, and have vowed to no other man,
then Is he justified; he cannot commit adultery,
for they are given himi and If he have
ten virgins given unto him BY this law, he can
not commit adultery, for they belong to him; and
they are given unto hlm-therefore is he justi-
fed But If one or either Of the ten virgins, after
she Is espoused, shall be with another man, she
has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed"
There are Territorial statutes against adultery
and laseivious Capitalization. They are general in
their terms and apply alike, without exception,
20 all citizens and residents In the Territory. On
the other side Of the globe, In former times, the
over q road eorduroyed with the PROSTATE bodies
Of Hindoo devotees. Quite recently ten priests
sought again to start 1t upon its bloody track
The authorities found means to prevent 1t, aud
now, almost while address you, comes the intel
ligence that "the magistrate, who has thus been
The indirect means OF preserving the lives Of a
number Of HIS fellow-creatures, is covered with
abuse and accused of "cOnspiring to interfere
with the religious obserTaoces Of the people,"
Gentlemen, let us do our work, however much
We nay be misrePesented and misunderstood.
Time will Yindieate rs.