The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-01-20
THE LEGAL PHASE
Of the Campbell Cannon
EmbrOgho.

1
Campbell by Governor Murray. IL
the fret place it is claimed anu con
ceded that there are at least 80, 00(
GeDtiles in the territory, with voting
population of from 5000 to 5000
and of those Mr.. Campbell only re-
ceiyed q fraction over l 800. whilst
Cannon received over $4,000 votes,
1t is most apparent then that Camp
bell received only a tolersble minority
OF the Gentle votes, and some Gen
tiles assert, with much plausibility,
that il the facts could be arrived at,
Cannon received more GENTLE votes
than did Campbell. At Ieast can
didate who gets so small portion OF
his Own, claimed, friends presents
but a sorry moral Claim to an Office,
and the true facts OF this case show
be is without even the semblsnce
of plausible legal claim waving
the Oft and unanimously decided
question as TO the right of the
Governor to resolve himself into q
returning board" and determine
hutOu Vi IuO hNt6 GhOuAA baNO
been elected; and instead OF giving
the certificate t. tha man receiving
fourteen out OF every fifteen votes &C
tually cast, giving 1t TO the one who
had received only one out OF fifteen.
The pretext in this case is exceedingly
shallow, and savors strongly of fraud
when the tue facts are understood
Ia 1854, when Cannon was natural
lied, the district court, held at Salt
Lake City, was known as the FIRST
District Court. Years af:erwsrd the
territory Was redistricted and the
number changed, and the First Dis
trict was numbered the Third, but
the court with its records and juris-
diction remained intact.
The naturalization book, or record
book, wherein were kept the judg-
ments OF naturalization of the First
District Court remained as part ofthe
records of the the Third District
Court, and by some mesns this
naturalization book got into the
possession Of the clerk OF the Supreme
Court of tie Territory, where it
now Is, and the judgment book of
naturalization OF the First District
Court is to-day in existsnce, in an
office held under the same roof where |
the Office of the clerk of the Third |
District Court is held. Mr. Sprsgue,
the present clerk OF the Supreme
Court. cer!ifies copy from this book.
and says ii was delivered to him by
mis- predecessor, and this certified
copy is one of the papers published by
the Governor, so that, from his own
1t appears that the Gov
srnor knew of the existence and
of this record book OF
on naturally ition. and
which fully rebuts any presumptions
arising from the certificate of the
clerk of the ThlId District Court that
ne could find no record OF Cannou's
in bis office. OF course
ne could not, when the record was in
The custody OF the clerk of another
court, but it's being there in nowise
destroys its character az q record of
he First Dis trict Court.
This record still being in existence,
md in the custody of an officer OF one
)f the federal courts, can be easily
ordered back into the custody of the
clerk of the Third District Court,
as the judge of that court is
)ne of the judges Of the Territorial
supreme Court. whose clerk now hiss
t.
As this record is still in existence
here is no need of resc ring to sec.
)ndaIy evidence to establish Can
lon's naturalization and citizenship,
but if it was beyond the jurisdiction OF
he court, or destroyed, then the law
8 we'll cited that secondary evidence
could be resorted to, and the cerui
,ste of the clerk that the paper de-
ivered to Cannon was a true trans
,ript from the record would be ample
evidence.
But altar Mr.. Cannon has pre-.
7iously had two Gentle competitor
md who contested his right or elligi
1ility to the seat, and after he ha
been permitted TO sit in four consecu
i've Congresses, and after the question
has been thus settled by the House of
Representatives OF the United States,
Ind when all the predecessors o! Gov
,rnor Murray have failed and refused
20 give a certificate to bis Gentle {
it msy be regarded as a {
bold usurpstion and inexcusably law
ess act, II not an actual fraud, on
he part of Governor Murray to SO
the powers conferred upon |
him as member OF a canvsssiDg ,
BOARD. Even il he did see proper to {
gnore al the American precedents |
md especially those from his own
tate, tor be should be informed ihstI
his came principle has frequently I
,een decided in Kentucky, and there s
t has been universally held that the {
receiving but a minority
ire never elected, even if the party I
TIE majority be under dis
that it simply leaves the
Dffice vacant, to be subsequently, filed
Is may be directed by law.
But it is urged that Mr.. Cannon is
i polygsmist, and so appealing to tn e
OF the American people n
his subject it is hoped to divert their
attention from the real legal phase J
# this question. Ia the first place ,
congress has bever made this a dis
qualification. Secondly, if it we're go
regular conviction OF the ofiense in
ome court would be required as inst
md legal. Thirdly, until 1862 there
vas no statute, either congressional
" territorial, prohibiting a plurality /
# wives in this territory, ana those
Fho have correctly read the nu {
nerous decisions of the United States c
supreme Court, especially those of
Cummings Us. the state OF Missouri j
/, Wallace SIG, and the following i
,sse Of erparte Garland, in which Mr..
Justice Field for the court so ably {
rsvelled over the whole ground of 7
I-parte fdctO laws, and declared q
provision OF the constitution OF Mis-
ouri as in coDhIct with the United {
states Oonstitution, will perceive how !
Unjust it il to provide punishment {
or past act where there was no (
penalty at the time Of its perpetrs- I
ion. 5
AZ to plural marriages previous TO 7
S62 there is and can be no punish
nents provided. The territorial
government in this territory was pro
Iided by the Organic act OF September