The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-01-27
MURRAY'S MESSAGE.
Tt is Punctured and Riddled
by Delegate Game.
The Associated Press is Fair
for Once.
A General Budget of Home
and Foreign News.

Washington, 26 John I. Game
delegate to Congress from Utah, has
addressed a communication TO the
general manager Of thu AssC ciated
Press in regard 20 misrepl esenta1
tions and perversions OF fact mace by
Governor Murray in bis message to
the legislature, evidently with the
purpose of deceiving the eastern
public. The delegate Gays he (the
GOVERNOR asks the repeal Of the law
making escheats result to the per-
petual emigratiDg fund company.
This law swas repealed eight years
ago by the enactment OF section 713,
compiled laws Of Utah, (which reads:
elf decedant leave no husband,
wife or kindred, the estate escheats
to the Territory for the support of
common schools" This is the law
now and has been since 1876. He
misrepresents the scope and effect OF
ihe act Incorporating the Mormon
church, when he says it is law res
specting the establishment Of re-
ligion. It did not purpose to estab-
Iish any religion but simply mede
the Mormon church body corpo-
rate, with powers as stated in the
charter, lot inconsistent with |
or repugnant to the constitution Of
the United States. Other churches |
including the Presbyterian, have
been incorporated in the Territory.
AS only go much of the act inc0r~
porating the church as mightestab-
lish, maintain and protect our con-
tinuance in the practice OF poly gsmy
was disRppr0Ved by Congress. The
compilefs of the Territorial laws in
1876 failing to find any such pro-
vision in it as that named by Con-
gress, included the entire act in the
compilation, but no part Of it was
then, or ever, Te-enacted by the
Legislature, whose acts to be valid
must be consistent with the laws of :
Congress, else they are null and
void. His statement that this law
vests the ecclesiastical courts with
authority which may only be eXer-
cised in the United States by civil 4
courts, is entirely without founda- !
ton in fact. No such powers are !,
by the law conferred upon ecclesias- !,
ticsl courts; they only act as E
and regulate the
fellowship Of members Of the
church, and that without expense
to the parties. His comments on
the dover question give an entirely n
false idea of the property rights Of L
women In Utah. The fact is they
are equal with the men in their legal .
right and power to acquire, hold Il
and transfer real and personal
A husband has no con>
troll whatever over the property Of
MS wife, and need not join with her a,
in deciding it away. Hundreds Of RI
women in Utah hold titles to their "
homes and other real estate indie.
pendent of their husbands. True,
here Is, technically speaking, no
rights of dover existing In the Ter
.itorys but the law of descent and n
succession there is more liberal to I
,he wife in many instances than the 8
common law of dover Eight would be.
For instance, q widow Of an intestate
s ALWAYS entitled for life to theI
homestead of her husband and tot
Ill the personal property which is y
BY law exempt from execution. In
addition thereto, she inherits for
life one-third Of the remainder of
he estate, when he leaves one
child, and If more than one J
,hild then one fourth Of the re- b.
of the estate goes to her
or life. II he leave no issue, but
lither a mother, father, sister or
,rother, one half of the estate goes
o the wife absolutely and If no lie
ssue, mother, father, brother or
lister survive him, the whole estate
oes to her absolutely, and in all
ases where the exempted property
] insufficient to support family Sc
uriDg the settlement of the estate y,
llowance is made out OF the estate o.
or that purpose. Marriage should p
e made by law civil compact, to 10
e entered into only by persons =, n
to contract and valid "
My as between one man and one -
woman, and any other marriage "
lnder the circumstances should be
Iec,ared void from the beginning"
This is the common law, which in
he absence of a statute on :
he subject prevails in Utah, q
lencs the enactment of such a =
sw IS he proposes would :
lot in any degree change y
he legal status OF married persons. Il
Ks matter of facs, no In
marriage has ever @
cen claimed, even by Nor. 4
IONS, to bs valid in law. They
ave never been enforced or an.
Iulled by process Of civil law" as
is language would import, but are or
imply regarded as religious obliga- ru
ions. The public schools are not, &
8 he would have the public be- du
Ieve, sectarian in their character;
hey are ss free from the charge of
as public schools in
ny other part of the country" h
L ~