The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1884-07-03
sTA>DI>G ADvERTIsEMENTs.
The anti NJ ormon Law

Another attempt is 10 hc made nv
/. Congress TO put an end 10 go uIygamy
n bv LEGISLATION. The hill PASSED
Wednesday by the Senate is dc.
< CidcdIv the most severe measure vet
I directed against this CORNERSTONE of
l. he Mormon Church. 1t allows the
g wife To testify against the husband
+ in a case Of p"lygamy Thy prohibit
ting this the MumpnS have hitherto
F. prevented conyictions) }: It requires
: the ccrliiication of all marriages IN
der pcnaltv Of heavy fines and i'm
prisOnmeut; it annuls donations to
/, IIlcgitimate children: prohibits fc-
male suffrage, rcdistricts the Terri
tory, places tic control of the
schools in the hands Oi the Supreme
Court Of the State. etc.
But he most stringent portion OF
the bill, and the one that causes
greatest aIaIm among the Mormon~,
is that directed agliLst the church
itself. The act annais the Terrific
rial laws incorporating the Church
II Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints
: another name tor the MUrmOns-
and the President j. empowered to
appoint fourteen trustees tor that
/ corporation. The Attorney Gener-
/ al is further directed to institute
suit against the corporation, and To
! dispose Of its property and assets
according to law. Such property
and assets in excess of debts and
lawful claims established bv the
court shall eschcat TO the United
States, and shall he used by the
Secretary Of the Interior, under the.
direction Of the President, for the
bcncht Of tic common schools Of the.
/ Territory.
Tie perpetual immigration fund
which is used as a sort of III s,iona-
y fund for bringing Mormons into
! the Territory, is also coniistatPd for
the use of public schools; and the
Legislature Is prohibited from crea-
tiag any future corporation or asso-
citation for this purpose.
These are certainly harsh meas
ures-araountjng almcst to conisca-
tion-but they have been indorsed
and approved hv a Two thirds vote
Of the Senate, and now e. to the.
House for consideration. The only
opposition came from certain South
crn Senators, who doubted the CON
>titutionality OF these extreme meas
ures, or who thought that they.
might be used as a precedent for
unlliendly Legislation against the
South. The opposition vo.e, there
fore. was due to 40 SYMPATHY or
friendly feeling towald ,he Nor
mons.
The general sentiment Of the.
country will appro,e this bill. The
matter has been put fairly and
~quarely to the Mormons. They
bave been told that the world OPP
poses poly gamy as immora', dcbas-
ING and injurious; that it cannot be
tolerated in thi, country, for if tol-
Grated in Utah, it must be allowed
in other Territories and States as
we'll If the Morlnons crop poly
gamy they viii he left in peace; but
they must give it up; they cannot,
more than other citizens, d fy the
law and the FEDERAL Government.
Their course is actual rebellion,
passive, it is true, but none the less
rebellion and defiance of law. They
declare that all the power of the
Federal Government cannot compel
them to submit, and they laugh ut
each successive congressional bill as
weak and impotent. The Senate,
therefore, now passes the present
bill, which they are scarcely likely
to deem impotent
There is no religious question in
this contest. 1t is the simple pro
position that the laW, and 4 moral
and necessary law, shall he enforced
and vindcated. II the Mormon
Church puts itself in opposition,
either it OF the Federal Government
must submit.
BY simple submission, without
~urreniering a single principle OF
thcir reli zion, the Mormons can
escape This severe cha>tiscment. Let
them cherish ! olygamy as a thcorc-
rical Virtue if they desire; but they
must abolish its practice: they must
submit 10 one of the first laws OF
virtue, morality and civilization,
without which apcople soon become
degraded and base.
The temper of the Senate irdi-
Gates a decided iirmness and severity
in this matter, a determination to
indicate the law and to pass even
more stringent measures if necessary.
to break up polygamy. 1t is time
for the Saints to Pause and reflect
whether they had better not submit.
". o. Times Dem0crdt.
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