The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-05-21
THE DEBATE.
Continuation of the Cam n
Campbell Contest in the
House.
PettibOne,s Argument.


EMMY denied in 1874-apd have locke
in vain through the record for evidence
| contradict him-solemnly denies ths
he was q polygsmist in 1874. I fint
/ in his own handwriting IN this cas-,
he confesses now that he is polyRamist
And here he stands q self-confessed Grim
| insl violstor of the law, a felon, If W
may believe his own words oat Of hi
own mouth, and demands as a right tht
rights of other members, not delegates
not ENJOYS, not agents from o TERRITORY
not vet admitted into the Union, bat tbu
same rights of every member of Con
gress upon this floor as they are LAID
down and written with an iron pen il
the Constitution Of your and my country
Furthermore, Mr.. Speaker, that being SO
I have held that it lie beneath the dig
nifty of this House to admit upon THU
floor this self-confessed felOn.
But have another word to ssy, and
challenge the attention of the member
of this House to The wording of the Oou
stitution. Why was i; that in making
the Constitution our fathers said that NJ
qualification shall be demanded save the
qualifications of the age, inhsbitancy snC
citizenship?
Here the hammer fell
The Speaker-The gentleman's time
has expired.
Mr.. Pettibone-I should like to have
few minutes longer.
Mr.. Jones, of Texss-I have ten min.
utes Of my time remaining, and will yield
FIVE minutes to the gentleman from Ten
nessee.
Mr.. Pettibone-Than you, sir. I say
why was it in making the Constitution
our fathers established 40 qualifications
save those of age, inhsbitsacy and citi-
zenship? Does not every lawyer here
know that when the Constitution was
adopted ia 1889 thst bigsmy, that lar
ceny, that murder, that all the felonies
and all the commonplace misdemeanors
we're then fully cOgnizable in the courts
Of the United States? This being so,
Congress might we'll ssy-the constitu-
tional convention might well say-We
will leave the punishment Of these Of
lenses to the various forums Of the diff
ferent states. But when you come 10 the
territories, Congress, exercising the power
of the state legislature, ss Judge Mar.
shall says, shall take cognizanee of them.
Now, this is a different thing. A man
may commit bigamy in MsrYlsnd, and
murder in Tennessee, and larceny in Yer
mont. and those states will look to 1t.
Why, sir, even in the ancient forum al
Corinth, when Paul was brought before
the Roman judge, Gallo said to the null
titude if he, Paul, had committed any
crime he would attend to it, but 'if it be
question Of words and names, and Of
your law, look ye to it."
Now this act of George @. Cannon is
in violation of the law of this Congress,
and one word in this respect. Why 60
they say this is without precedent? l
hold in my hands the reports of election
cases in Massachusetts, and 1 see that as
long ago as 1855 this question was adiud-
ieated IN that state. One jeremiah Lar
ned had been elected to the legislature OF
Massachusetts, but it turned out that be
had violated a law that that legislature
hid passed. And what was it? WhySon
election day he headed riot for the pur
pose Of preventing the collection of
taxes. WDst did the fathers of that day
do? They were not ''idiots, Mr..
Speaker. They were not men whe were
regardless Of humsn rights even though
they come from the state of Msssschu-
sets; and they held that inasmuch as
this man Larned had violated the law
which they had passed, although it WAS
only question Of assault and battery, he
was unworthy to take a seat upon thas
floor and they kept him out.
Now, cir, l recognize the chivalry of
the gentlemen on the other side; but l
would be ashamed to be silent if stood
alone on this floor on a question of right
and constitutional obligation. But l say
to the gentleman from Texas, and to the
people of Utah, to whom he referred and
70 the women who voted in that election
for George O. Cannon, that there is a
state Of affairs that demands correctio.
by the strong iron hand Of this Congress,
Men and women throughout the land,
voiceless thousands among them, tied up
bound Gown, kept under control by an
ecclesiastical despotism, the like of
which has not been seen this side Of the
middle ages, voiceless to-day, whisper to
you and to me to stand by the action OF
the committee on elections and say to
Mr. Cannon and to men like him, if you
violate e=iminally the laws which the
Congress Of this nation has passed you
are not worthy to have 8 seat upon the
floor of this House. Yeu shall not desc
crate by your presence this temple OF
equal rights snd constitutional freedom.
Mr.. JONES.
Mr.. Jones, Of Texas-In the few min
utes which have reserved desire sim
ply to state the logical conclusion of the
argument which l intended to make in
support of the minority report to the eff
feet that Mr.. Cannon cannot be excluded
from seat upon this floor without abol-
ishing the Office of delegate from that
territory. And 10 supplement to what I
have stated already, [ desire to say
simply by way Of conclusion that the
Christian religion is distinguished from
all others by the fact that it does not
make or require the help Of temporal or
political aid, but addresses itself directly
to the head and heart Of the individual,
and depends alone upon the power OF
truth. It does not ask, but rejects as In
compatible with Divine truth, the aid of
secular power.
Mr.. MILLER.
Nr. Miller. In the limited time al
lowed me it is impossible for me to dis
cuss the questions that have been pre-
scented in this debate in order to
demonstrate that polygsny and the
practices under it are dangerous to the
civil as we'll as the religious institutions
Of ,his country. It is not necessary that
It should be done. As early ss the For
tieth Congress a committee appointed by
the House, and which considered that