The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-06-14
THE CORNERSTONE YORK.


Commission. The directions as to
what that body were to do were
not couched in general, but special
terms; the law did not say that the
Commissioners might interpret,
pass upon. accept or reject law. nor
that they were invested with judi
icial functions it said they might
and it was their duty to, do certain
things, which are fully set forth in
Sec. 8 of said law, as follows:
SEC. 9.-Thst all the registration and
election Offices Of every description
in the Territory of Utah are hereby de-
clared vacant, and esch and every duty
relating to the registration of voters, the
conduct Of elections, the receiving or re-
lection of votes, and tbs csnYassing and
returning Of the sane, and the issuing
of certificates or other evidence Of cleo
ton in said territory, shall, until other
provision ba made By the Legislative
Assembly of said Territory as is herein
after By this section provided. be per-
formed under the existing laws Of the
United States and of said territory by
proper persons, who shall be appointed
80 execute such Offices and perform such
duties by board of FIVE persons, to be
appointed by the President, by and with
the advise and consent OF the
Senate, not 5ore thsn three
Of whom shall be members of
one political party, msjOrity of whom
shall be q quorum. The members of
said board so appointed by the President
shall each recsi7e O salary at the rate of
So, 600 per Annum, and shall continue in
Office until the Legislative Assembly of
said Territory shall make provisions for
filing said Offices as herein authorized.
The Secretary of the Territory shall be
the secretary Of said board, and keep 8
journal OF its proceedings, and attest the
action OF said bosrd under this section.
The caEvsss and return OF ali the vote.
OF elections in said Territory for MEM
bers ofthe Legislative Assem- bly, thereof
shall also be returned 10 said board, which
shall canvass all such returns and issue
certificates of election TO those persons
Who. being eligible Cor such election,
shall appear to have been la Tfully cleo
ted, which certificates shall be the only
evidence of the right Of such persons to
sit In such Assembly, provided said
board Of five persons shall not exclude
any persons otherwise eligible to vote
from the polls, on account Of any opin
Ion such peraon may entertain on the
subjecL Of bigsmY or polygamy; nor shall
they refuse 10 count any such vote on
account Of the opinion of the person cast.
ing it on the subject Of bigamy or polyg-
amy.
Of course in the discharge OF their
duties as election and registration
superintendent, they must be gov
erned by any provision of the act
coming within tie scope of their
duties, and in connection with this
subject we have reference only to
section s, which reads as follows:
SIC. 8-Thss no polygamist, bigamist
or any person cohabiting with more than
one woman, and no woman cohabiting
with any Of the persons described as
aforesaid in this section, in any territory
or other place over which the United
States have exclusive Jurisdiction, shall
be entitled to vote ct any election held in
any such territory or other place, or be
eligible for election or appointment to or
be entitled to hold any Office or place of
public trust, honor or emolument in,
under, or for any such territory or place,
or under the United States.
The ruling Of the commission on
yesterday, which appears elsewhere
in to-day's HERALD, excludes Hon.
William Jennings from the list of
voters in this Territory. The gen.
tlemen who adopted this rule will
not. we trust, regard it as an unduly
harsh criticism of their action in
this regard when we pronounce it
arbitrary and not within the limit
of the powers conferred upon them
by congress. II is not even
claimed that the applicant for regis
tratiOn is bigamiSt or polygamist !;
on the contrary, it is we'll known
that he is neither. 1t would then
appear that the custodians of our
election machinery base their &C
ton upon the assumption that the
applicant was once a polygamist,
and that they did not even require
conclusive evidence upon that
point. The foundation of their
hostile action towards Mr.. Jennings
is in the proceeding Of registrar in
striking his name from the list,
after it had been placed there in
accordance with the forms pre-
scribed by law, and pursuant to his
qualifying oath; he swore that he
was not a bigamist OF polygamist,
and he swore truly, and thus had a
right to register; the officer who
placed his name upon the list OBJ
served the law and did his duty the
one who struck the name out after
it had been properly entered ignored
the law and his duty, permitting o
policy upheld and pushed forward
by the rabid element among the
minority to control him, and the
Commission deliberately rstify the