Connecticut western news., 1889-10-02
UTAH COMMISSION REPORT.
Some Facts Regarding the Practice of Pc
 lYRamY-RecOmme endations.

Some Facts Regarding the Practice of Po-
 lygamy-Recommenda
 The annual report of the Utah commission has been received by Secretary Noble. This commission, under authority of Congress, has general supervision of all elections in the Territory and specially intrusted with the en- forcement of the "Edmunds-Tucker act' of March 8. 1887. The report, touching the question of polygamy, says: "Polygamy is not at the present time openly practised, eX- cept, perhaps, in a few remote and out-of-the- way places, but the Mormon elements in- sist that plural marriages are solemniZed clandestinely and practised secretly in the larger centres and throughout the Territory. Doubtless many members of the Mormon church never have practised, and never haps,, many of them per Sc do not believe in the practice, but from the standpoint of their faith and creed they accept it as revelation from God through the prophet, seer and revelator, Joseph Smith, ratified and approved by their whoever desires to do so should have the right to comply with this ordinance of the church.' All laws forbidding the practice of polygamy the Mormans pronounce unconsti- tutional. There are grounds for belief, it is stated, that polygamy is still taught by the who practice it are assured of a higher eXal- tatiOn in heaven.
 The courts are commended by their vigi- lance, and also for the mercy with which its mandates are tempted. The commission, in view of the present condition of the territory as regards polygamy. does not think that Utah should be admitted as a state.
 The commission makes a number of recOm- mendations, among them that Jurisdiction of all polygamous and sexual offences without regard to the place, committed within the territory be conferred on district courts that the term of Imprisonment for unlawful cohabitatioD be extended to at least two years for the first. and three years for the second offence; that it be made penal of. fence for any woman to enter into the mar riage relation with any man, knowing him to have a wife living, undivorced, coupled, how. ever, with the provision that, in cases where a pOlygamous wife is called as witness against the husband, her testimony could not be used in any future prosecution against her, and a like provision as to the husband that no person who refuses to take an oath that he or she is not cohabiting with more than one husband or wife in the marriage relation, as the case may be, shall be excluded from making a location and settlement upon the public lands; that the laws with reference to immigration of Chinese and the importa. tion of contract labor, paupers and criminals be so amended as to prevent the immigration of persons claiming that their religion justi. ties the crime of polygamy; that law be enacted creating board, to consist of the Governor, Utah commission and the sccre. tary of the territory, to apportion Salt Lake City into aldermanic and councimanic dis. tricts. 1t also recommends that the com. mission be authorized in it's discretion to cause to be made annually new registra. tion, instead of revision of former lists; that Congress pass laws for the government and conduct of the public schools in the territory of Utah; that, as soon as the result of the 11th census is known, the territory to be re districted for legislative purposes.
 The commission believes that the limita. tion on prosecutions for polygamy and bigamy should be extended and sentence o1 hard labor should be added. The commis. sion has no doubt that punishment of the woman for voluntarily entering into the polygamous relation would do much to lessen her zeal for the peculiar institution and thus tend to remove one of it's strongest hulXarkS.