The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-29

Rut unon tba ex- Excepting all per-
press condition that SONS VINO nase ~ ~
flf1Ira faitbfuIjN1l condition contained
ol,ev Tho l., We If +ba in said executive
Irnitad ctatas bare- proclamation of jan
inbefore named. and uary 4, 1893.
not otherwise.
Before considering the scope of the
two proclama tons is it well to recall
two principles of law as firmly estab-
lished by the decisions of the Supreme
Court Of the United States, first, that
the deprivation of the suffrage is not a
penalty" and, second, that a full par
don obliterated an offense, so far even
as to restore the franchise in cases
where, had the pardon not been grant
ed. test oath would prove an effectual
bar. The first point was decided in the
Utah commission cases that went up
from this territory; the second point in
the Garland, Armstrong and other
cases involving the rebellion test oaths
as affected by amnesty and pardon.
The scope Of the earlier proclamation
is limited, first, to persons then cat the
date of the proclamation liable; and,
second, liable to the penalties of the
act of 1882 for unlawful cohabitation;
and, third, to such persons as since
November 1, $780, had abstained from
such cohabitation. This proclamation,
therefore. failed to restore the fran
chise to those who had been convicted
Of unlawful cohabitation. but who,
since conviction, had lived within the
law and were not, at the date of the
proclamation, liable to conviction for
such cohabitation-and in this number
were included some of the most prorui-
nent members of the Mormon church;
it also failed to restore the franchise to
those who at the date were liable for
either adultery or polygamy only; and,
third, it failed to pardon and therefore
restore the franchise to those who had
been guilty of the offenses named since
November l, 1890. 1t is in the latter
exception chiefly that Mr.. Harrison's
proclamation was unjust, ungenerous
and insufficient. The manifesto. had
been submitted to the Mormon confer
ence in October, 1890. The language of
the manifesto was such as to lead
many Mormons to believe that poygamy
alone, and not unlawful cohabitation,
was included within its Introduction.
and it was not until the examination
before the master in chancery the sue
ceeding summer that it became fully
and generally understood in the Nor
mon church, that both polygamous
marriages and polygamous relations
were prescribed by the manifesto In
the nature Of things, moreover, it would
be unreasonable to expect that be-
tween October 6 or Z, the date of the
manifesto, and November l, a large
part of an entire community, stretched
from Canada to Mexico, either could or
would adapt itself to the manifesto.
even had its scope been clearly under
stood. 1t is therefore certain that ow-
ing in part to misrepresentation and. in
part, to the utter impossibility of in
stantly rearranging intimate and intri-
cate ties, there were hundreds of citi-
zens who did not prior to November /, !
1890, abstain from unlawful cohabita-
ton, and who. therefore, remained I'M
by Harrison's tardy, reluctant
and insufficient proclamation, and have
not been able-to register or vote.
. Compare that proclamation with that
of Mr.. Cleveland. The latter is abso-
lutely without limitation or qualifica-
ton save that of exempting from it's
provisions those who since January. |
1893, have violated the laws of 1882
'r 1887 The Utah Commission
has recognized the full scope of !
the. proclamation. and has modified the
oath so as to require a person to swear
only to his age, residence, c&zenshin |
name, place ef business, to. support the
Constitution and laws, and particularly
the 'anti-polygamy' laws, and not to
aid, abet, counsel or advise any one
else to commit any Of the acts defined
n those laws
That part of the oath requiring the |
affiant to swear that he is not a big
amist or polygamist and has not been
of any Of the crimes referred
10, has been eliminated.
It seems quite clear therefore that the |
cleveland amnesty is of substantial /
value to a large number-Chairman |
Leteher estimates 1,500-of our citizens. /