The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-01-08
THE AMNESTY PROCLAMATION.
Views of John NJ. Zane, Esq, on Its Scope
and Effect.

and Effect.
To the Editor of THE HERALD:
In your issue of today you have an edi.
torial that is likely to mislead your read
ers. You state that the amnesty procla-
nation has no effect whatever upon the
right of certain persons to vote. to sit
upon jury, or to hold Office. This is 6
total and complete error. The effect oil
amnesty and pardon for an offense is to
move all the penalties and disabilities at
tendant upon such offense.
Section "a of the Edmunds- Tucker law
of 1887, prescribes an oath for voters, for
jurors, and for persons holding office.
This oath as prescribed in the statute no
where requires man to swear that he has
never been convicted of any of the crimes
of bigamy, polygamy, unlawful cohabi-
tation, incest, adultery or fornication, or
that he is not a bigamlst or polygamist,
or that he does not cohabit polygam-
ously with persons of the opposite
sex. But the section does make
such conviction or such status an abso-
lutte disqualification to vote, to register,
to act as juror, and to hold Office. Such
! clauses have no proper place in the regis
tration oath. 1t is true that they are in
the affidavit taken by jurors, but that is
simply to save the trouble of questioning
| the Juror as to such points upon his UOtr
| dire. If man s right to register be con-
! tested upon any OF these grounds, then it
becomes a question for proof be fore the
registrationI officer.
! Now in the proclamation (if the news
paper version be correct) amnesty and
pardon is extended to persons for the
single crime of unlawful cohabitation. 1t
does not apply to persons guilty of
| bigamy, polygamy. incest, adultery or
! fornication Had it applied to the latter
crimes 1t might be that the president con-
sidered be would be shielding those who
| did not believe they were acting under
religious sanctions. But 1t does relieve
every man guilty of unlawful cohabita-
ton prior to November 1, 1890, whether
convicted of the crime or not, from every
consequence of his crime except the con-
sequences which are now in the past
provided that since November /, 1890, the
man has obeyed the law, and continues
| to obey it.
AS to the meaning of the words bigam-
ist or polygamist, it has a number of
times been held by the courts in Utah,
that a bigamIst or polygalnist within the
meaning of this act, is a man who is liv-
ing bigamously or polygamously with
persons of the opposite sex, i. e. a man
who is committing the crime of unlawful
cohabitation. Hence it has been held
| that if a man is in good faith obeying the
law against unlawful cohabitation and is
cohabiting with but his legal wife, he is
not bigamist or polygamist, whether or
not he once was such. Therefore you are
in error when you state that man who
does not live with and never sees his
plural wife is still bigamist or polyg-
amist.
What, then, is the result? If a man
since November list, 1890 (since the mani
festo), who prior to that time was guilty
of unlawful cohabitation, has been obey
ing the law in good faith and has been
and is living with his legal wife alone, he
is qualified to vote, to SIT on a jury and to
hold Office, no matter whether he has been
convicted or not, or whether he has been
q polygamist or not. Even if the oath
requires him to swear that he is not a
bigamist or polygamist, and has not been
convicted of certain crimes, he can do SO.
because he has ceased to be a bigamist OF
poly gamiSt, and his conviction has been
absolutely erased.
Those who in the last three years have
been guilty of bigamy, polygamy, incest
adultery or fornication are vet liable to
prosecution. Those who have been con-
yicted of either of these crimes are still
under disability, but if they have not
been convicted, their rights are as yet in
no wise affected. But unless man has
been convicted of one of the five crimes, or
since Nov. 1, 1890, has been guilty of I'M
lawful cohabitation, or unless in the flu
ture he forfeits his amnesty by disobeying
the Edmunds law or the Edmunds- Tucker
law, his right to vote, to hold Office and to
sit upon a jury cannot be questioned.
Yours truly, JOHN M. ZANE.
SALT LAKE, Jan. 6.