History of Salt Lake City, Part 60

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194

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" The Bible confessedly stands in our nation as the foundation on which all law is based. It is the fountain from which our ideas of right and wrong are drawn, and it gives shape and force to our morality ; yet it sustains plural mar- riage, and in no instance does it condemn that institution. Not only having, therefore, a revelation from God making the belief and practice of this principle obligatory upon us, we have the warrant of the Holy Scriptures and the example of prophets and righteous men whom God loved, honored and blessed. And it should be borne in mind that when this principle was promulgated, and the peo- ple of this Territory entered upon its practice, it was not a crime. God revealed it to us. His divine word, as contained in the Bible which we have been taught to venerate and regard as holy, upheld it, and there was no law applicable to us making our belief or practice of it criminal. It is no crime in this Territory to- day, only as the law of 1862, passed long years after our adoption of this princi- ple as part of our religious faith, makes it such. The law of 1862 is now a fact ; one proscription gives strength to another. What yesterday was opinion is liable to-day to be law. It is for this reason that we earnestly and respectfully remon- strate and protest against the passage of the bill now before the Honorable Sen-

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ate, feeling assured that, while it cannot accomplish any possible good it may re- sult in a great amount of misery.

" It gives us no alternative but the cruel one of rejecting God's command and abjuring our religion, or disobeying the authority of a Government we desire to honor and respect.

" It is in direct violation of the first amendment of the Constitution, which declares that ' Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'

" It robs our priesthood of their functions and heaven-bestowed powers, and gives them to justices of the supreme court, justices of the peace, and priests whose authority we cannot recognize, by empowering such as the only ones to cel- ebrate marriage. As well might the law prescribe who shall baptize for the re- mission of sins, or lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost.

" It encourages fornication and adultery, for all such marriages would be deemed invalid and without any sacred or binding force by our community, and those thus united together would, according to their own belief and religious con- victions, be living in a condition of habitual adultery, which would bring the holy relation of marriage into disrepute, and destroy the safeguards of chastity and virtue.

" It is unconstitutional in that it is in direct opposition to Section 9, Article I, of the Constitution, which provides that ' no bill of attainder, or ex post facto law shall be passed.'

" It destroys the right of trial by jury, providing for the impaneling of juries composed of individuals the recognized enemies of the accused, and of foreigners to the district where a case under it is to be tried; while the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution provides that ' in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.'

" It is contrary to the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which provides that excessive fines shall not be imposed, 'nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.'

" It violates Section 8, Article I, of the Constitution, which provides that Congress shall establish a uniform rule of naturalization throughout the United States, in that it provides, in Section 17, a new, unheard of, and special rule, applicable only to the Territory of Utah.

"It is anti-republican, in that in Section 10 it places men on unequal ground, by giving one portion of the citizens superior privileges over others, be- cause of their belief.

" It strips us, in Sections 17 and 26, of the land we have reclaimed from barrenness, and which we have paid Government for; also of all possessory rights to which we are entitled as settlers.

" It authorizes, by Section 14, the sending of criminals into distant military camps and prisons.

" It is most unjust, unconstitutional, and proscriptive, in that it disfranchises and proscribes American citizens for no act, but simply believing in plurality of wives, which the bill styles polygamy, bigamy, or concubinage, even if they never have practiced or designed to practice it.

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" It offers a premium for prostitution and corruption, in that it requires, in Sections 11 and 12, husbands and wives to violate the holiest vows they can make, and voluntarily bastardize their own children.

" It declares, in Section 21, marriage to be a civil contract, and names the officers who alone shall solemnize the rite, when our faith expressly holds it as a most sacred ordinance, which can only be administered by those holding the authority from heaven ; thus compelling us to discriminate in favor of officers ap- pointed by the Government and against officers authorized by the Almighty.

" It thus takes away the right of conscience, and deprives us of an ordinance upon the correct administration of which our happiness and eternal salvation depend.

" It not only subverts religious liberty, but, in Sections 16 and 19, violates every principle of civil liberty and true republicanism, in that it bestows upon the Governor the sole authority to govern jails and prisons, and to remove their wardens and keepers ; to appoint and remove probate judges, justices of the peace, judges of all elections, notaries public and all sheriffs ; clothing one man with despotic and, in this Republic, unheard-of power.

" It thus deprives the people of all voice in the government of the Territory, reduces them to absolute vassalage, creates a dangerous, irresponsible and cen- tralized despotism, from which there is no appeal, and leaves their lives, liberties and human rights subject to the caprice of one man, and that man selected and sent here from afar.

" It proposes, in Sections 11, 12 and 17, to punish American citizens, not for wrongs, but for acts sanctioned by God, and practiced by his most favored servants, requiring them to call those bad men whom God chose for his oracles and delighted to honor, and even to cast reflections on the ancestry of the Savior himself.

" It strikes at the foundation of all republican government, in that it dictates opinions and belief, prescribes what shall and shall not be believed by citizens, and assumes to decide on the validity of revelation from Almighty God, the au- thor of existence.

" It disorganizes and reduces to a chaotic condition every precinct, city and county in the Territory of Utah, and substitutes no adequate organization. It subverts, by summary process, nearly every law on our statute book.

" It violates the faith of the United States, in that it breaks the original com- pact made with the people of this Territory in the Organic Act, who were, at the time that compact was made, received as citizens from Mexican Territory, and known to be believers in the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints.

" We also wish your honorable bodies to understand that the legislature of this Territory has never passed any law affecting the primary disposal of the soil, but only adopted regulations for the controlling of our claims and possessions, upon which improvements to the amount of millions of dollars have been made.

" This bill, in Section 36, repeals the law of the Territory containing said regulations, thereby leaving us destitute of legal protection to our hard-earned pos- sessions, the accumulated labor of over twenty years, and exposing us to the mercy of land speculators and vampires.

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" Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives, this bill would de- prive us of religious liberty and every political right worth having, is not directed against the people of Utah as men and women, but against their holy religion. Eighteen years ago, and ten years before the passage of this Anti-Polygamy Act of 1862, one of our leading men, Elder Orson Pratt, was expressly deputed and sent to the city of Washington, D. C., to publish and lecture on the principle of patriarchal or plural marriage as practiced by us.

" He lectured frequently in that and other cities, and published a paper for some length of time, in which he established, by elaborate and convincing argu- ments, the divinity of the revelation commanding plural marriage, given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that the doctrine was sanctioned and endorsed by the highest Bibical authority. For ten years before the passage of the Act of 1862, this doctrine was widely preached throughout the Union and the world, and it was universally known and recognized as a principle of our holy faith. We are thus explicit in mentioning this fact to show that patriarchal marriage has long been understood to be a cardinal principle of our religion. We would re- spectfully mention, also in this connection, that while hundreds of our leading elders have been in the Eastern States and in the city of Washington, not one of them has been cited to appear as a witness before the Committee on Territories, to prove that this doctrine is a part of our religion ; gentlemen well knowing that if that were established, the law would be null and void, because of its unconstitu- tionality.

" What we have done to enhance the greatness and glory of our country by pioneering, opening up, and making inhabitable the vast western region, is before the nation, and should receive a nation's thanks, not a proscriptive edict to rob us of every right worth possessing, and of the very soil we have reclaimed and then purchased from the Government. Before this soil was United States terri- tory we settled it, and five hundred of our best men responded to the call of the Government in the war with Mexico, and assisted in adding to our national do- main. When we were received into the Union our religion was known ; our early officers, including our first governor, were all Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, for there were few others to elect from ; we were treated as citizens possessing equal rights, and the original bond of agreement between the United States Government and the people inhabiting this Territory, conferred upon us the right of self-gov- ernment in the same degree as is enjoyed by any other Territory in the Union.

" It is declared that the power of the legislature of this Territory, 'shall ex- tend to all rightful subjects of legislation, consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the provisions of the Organic Act; and the right of suffrage, and holding office shall be exercised by citizens of the United States,' including those recognized as citizens by the treaty with the Republic of Mexico, concluded Feb. 2d, 1848. This compact or agreement we have preserved inviolate on our part, and we respectfully submit that it is not in the power of any legislature or congress, legally and constitutionally, to abrogate and annul such an agreement as the or- ganic law, which this bill proposes to do, without the consent of both parties. Our property, lands, and buildings, private and public, are to be confiscated; our rights of citizenship destroyed; our men and women subjected to excessive pains

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and penalties, because we believe in and practice a principle taught by the Bible, commanded by divine revelation to us, and sustained by the Christian monarchies of Great Britain and France among millions of their subjects in their territories of India and Algeria.

" We earnestly, we solemnly appeal to you not to permit this iniquitous, un- justly discriminating, and anti-republican measure to become law, and that, too, in violation of the Constitution, by which one hundred and fifty thousand indus- trious, peaceable, and orderly persons will be driven to the desperate necessity of disobeying Almighty God, the governor of the universe, or of subjecting them- selves to the pains and penalties of this act, which would be worse than death.

" We beseech of you, gentlemen, do not, by the passage of harsh and despotic measures, drive an inoffensive, God-fearing, and loyal people to desperation.

" We have suffered, God knows how much, in years past, for our religion. We fled to the mountain wilds to escape the ruthless hand of persecution ; and shall it be said now that our Government, which ought to foster and protect us, designs to repeat, in the most aggravated form, the miseries we have been called upon to pass through before.

" What evidence can we give you that plural marriage is a part of our relig- ion, other than what we have done by our public teaching and publishing for years past ? If your honorable bodies are not satisfied with what we now present, and what we have previously published to the world, we beseech you, in the name of our common country and those sacred principles bequeathed unto us by our revo- lutionary fathers, in the name of humanity, and in the name of Almighty God, before making this act a law, to send to this Territory a commission clothed with the necessary authority to take evidence and make a thorough and exhaustive in- vestigation into the subject, and obtain evidence concerning the belief and work- ings of our religious system, from its friends, instead of its enemies."

This memorial, which was duly signed and attested, along with a set of reso- lutions more distinctly emphasizing the sentiment of the people upon some of its cardinal points, was promptly forwarded to Washington.

Just previous to this, as already recorded, a series of mass-meetings had been held throughout the Territory, by the Mormon women, at which was affirmed, with great earnestness, their belief in, and determination to maintain. the institu- tions of the Church.

The puritan aspect of those meetings would have been a rare treat to any his- torical spectator. They would have reminded him of the times when the God- fearing men of England defended their religious and political rights under such leaders as Cromwell, Hampden, Sir John Elliot and Sir Harry Vane, and were inspired by the republican pen of the divine Milton ; nor would he have for- gotten that one of Milton's most powerful writings is his defence of polygamous marriages, based upon the Hebrew covenants and examples.

This united action of the brotherhood and sisterhood created a sentiment which finally culminated in the overthrow of the Cullom Bill.

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CHAPTER LI.

CONSERVATIVE GENTILES OF SALT LAKE CITY AND THE SECEDING MORMON ELDERS HOLD MEETINGS TO PETITION FOR A MODIFICATION OF THE CULLOM BILL, THEY MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF MORMON FAMILIES. FEDERAL OFFICERS AND RADICAL GENTILES OPPOSE THE PETITION, AND FAVOR THE BILL WITH MILITARY FORCE, TO EXECUTE IT. MR. GODBE GOES TO WASHINGTON TO INVOKE FORBEARANCE. INTERVIEWS WITH GRANT AND CULLOM.

Simultaneous with the great mass meeting of the Mormons in the Tabernacle, to remonstrate with Congress against the bill, the Godbeite leaders, combined with conservative Gentiles, called a meeting of representative non-Mormon citi- zens for a similar purpose.

The meeting called at the suggestion of Messrs. Walker Brothers and Col. Kahn of this city, was held in the Masonic Hall, East Temple Street, to take into consideration the propriety of memoralizing Congress for such a modification of the Cullom Bill, as would make its provisions inapplicable to all polygamous mar- riages and associations entered into previous to the passage of said bill. The meeting was attended by a number of gentlemen of varied religious and political opinions, among whom were Gen. Maxwell, Col. Overton, Marshall Orr, Col. Kahn, T. Marshall, J. M. Carter, R. H. Robertson and J. R. Walker Esqs., with many others.

Mr. Robertson was called to the chair, and opened the meeting by requesting a general declaration of opinion on the subject to be brought before the meeting, which he desired Mr. Eli. B. Kelsey to present.

Mr. Kelsey briefly stated the purpose of the meeting, and reviewed the course which Congress had adopted since the passage of the act of 1862, and the belief among the people that no steps would be taken with reference to the enforcement of the anti-polygamy law. He, therefore, considered Congress responsible, to an extent, for the present feelings of the people on that subject. He bore testimony to his desire to uphold the laws and the influence of the government among the people, but he could not ask people to break up their families and bastardize their children.

Mr. E. L. T. Harrison said that he came to that meeting upon invitation. The object of it he understood to be to see if we could unite upon a memorial to be addressed to the Senate, requesting such modification of the Cullom Bill as would except all marriages entered into before the passage of the bill. So far as the ab- stract principle of polygamy went, he did not believe in the interference of the Government on such a subject, as he believed that the people of Utah, and all other Territories, were perfectly capable of adjusting all such relations themselves.

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Still, inasmuch as the Government is not of his opinion, and he desired to sus- tain law and order, he would join in any resolution to Congress expressive of a desire for a modification. He would do this not only out of justice to the people, but because he believed that it would be in the interest of the Government. He considered such a modification would greatly tend to promote a loyal and grateful feeling among the people, and do much to bring about that harmony between the Government and the people of Utah which was so desirable.

Mr. Gordon did not believe in memorializing Congress. If God originated polygamy He could take care of it. If not, he was not anxious to have it stand. He was ready to take his own share of the risk.

Mr. Stenhouse sustained Mr. Kelsey's position. If there had been a wrong in the past conduct of the Mormons, with respect to the violation of the act of 1862, he considered Government equally as culpable as the people by their neglect on the subject. He heard Mr. Lincoln say himself that if the Mormons let him alone he would let them alone. He, Mr. S., would join in soliciting for a modi- fication of the act. There were many points to which the attention of Govern- ment ought to be called. One was that the circumstances of the people would not permit a separate provision for their families, were they ever so disposed to obey that part of the act ; and that the carrying out of its provisions so far as ex- isting polygamous families were concerned, would involve the people in an amount of loss and suffering of which the Government has no conception.

Mr. Shearman said it was not the object of the meeting to attempt to " dic- tate " to Congress, as one of the speakers had intimated, but simply to appeal in a respectful and kindly manner to the justice and humanity of its members. He (Mr. S.) would feel just as opposed to the bill were it aimed at any other people than the Mormons, because he considered it unjust, unconstitutional and impolitic, and, as an American citizen, he felt he had a perfect right to discuss or dissent from any measures of the Government. He regretted that the people of Utali had, by their past unwise course, aroused the antagonism of the Nation, but the pro- visions of this bill were unworthy of so great and magnanimous a government as ours. A gentleman had referred to the forcible abolition of slavery as a prece- dent ; but it should be remembered that Congress never interfered with that until it became absolutely necessary to do so to preserve the life of the Nation from those who were in arms seeking its destruction, and that if the South had sub- mitted sooner, slavery would not have been abolished in the way it was. But the Mormons were not in arms, and had no disposition to rebel; he, therefore, felt they were entitled to the kindly consideration of the Government as children to that of a father. One of his most serious objections to this bill was, that while compiled professedly in behalf of woman, it in reality made her the sufferer and the scape-goat, as it gave every unprincipled man the right to kick his wives and children out of doors without provision or redress. In conclusion he said all he desired to ask Congress was to so modify the bill as not to interfere with existing social contracts, and thus save the innocent and defenceless from untold misery.

Mr. E. W. Tullidge said, what we ought to do was most clear-namely, to obey the laws of our country. It was not becoming in us to cavil with this Na- tion ; and to talk of resistance to her will was not only extravagant, touching our

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own strength, but decidedly wrong in principle. It is a fundamental requirement that individuals and communities must obey the laws of the State. The right of conscience in religious matters cannot be allowed when it sets aside the laws of the land and the expressed will of a nation ; and we, as a people, have only the same rights in this as other religious communities. Nevertheless, Congress, in adjusting this most delicate and complicated matter, should manifest the magna- nimity becoming her humane character, and the same admirable administration of justice as in the past. The South had been pardoned after a rebellion ; and, through the generosities of the Nation, even Jeff. Davis was forgiven and at large. Should the Nation, then, be less magnanimous to this God-fearing people, -who, if they have erred, have done so through the force of a religious faith and con- science such as have often led earnest men to the stake ? He would emphatically appeal to this Nation on behalf of the women, whom Congress believe to have been martyred by polygamy, and would pray that a new martyrdom might not be inflicted upon them by its special legislation, making them dishonored wives and dishonored mothers. He, therefore, proposed that we petition the Senate for a reconsideration and generous modification of the Cullom Bill.

Gen. Maxwell stated his unwillingness to make any such request of Congress, but said he would join in any effort to have the land and disfranchising clauses so modified as not to injure any who were disposed to be loyal to the government.

Mr. Marshall, of the firm of Marshall & Carter, said he was glad of the op- portunity of expressing himself in relation to the Cullom Bill. He wished it dis- tinctly understood that he was opposed to polygamy and would favor any measure which confined itself to stopping the spread of the practice. For this reason he decidedly approved the main measures of the bill, provided existing relationships were not interfered with. He testified to his personal knowledge of the virtue, in- tegrity, and loyalty of many gentlemen who were already practicing polygamy in Utah, and although he believed it to be a very great evil he felt it would be a still greater evil to break up family associations already formed. To do the latter he realized would be productive of great suffering and wrong, and, therefore, he should put his name to the proposed petition even if it stood there alone.

Messrs. Henry Lawrence and William Jennings expressed their readiness to co-operate with gentlemen in any measures that would be mutually satisfactory and beneficial to the people of Utah and the Government of the Nation, but they had no desire to ask any one to move in this matter except upon the broad ground of humanity and justice.

Several other short speeches were made, and a committee of seven was ap- pointed to draft and forward to Congress by mail or telegraph a memorial for such modifications as the prominent non-Mormons would endorse. The follow- ing gentlemen were unanimously elected members of said committee : Messrs. J. R. Walker, J. M. Carter, Samuel Kahn, R. H. Robertson, Warren Hussey, T. Marshall and O. J. Hollister. O. J. Hollister, Esq., subsequently declined to act, and Bishop Tuttle, being informed that some one had suggested his name as one of the committee, in a most kindly and Christian spirit, cheerfully consented to fill Mr. Hollister's place.

The meeting then adjourned after a vote of thanks to the chairman.

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Nothing, however, came of this effort of conservative non-Mormon citizens to have Congress reconsider and modify the Cullom Bill. £ The reason was, that while these gentlemen desired simple harmony between the Nation and Utah, the anti-Mormons, including the Federal officers, were anxious for the passage of the bill by the Senate in its most rigid form. The former class represented property, law and order, and Christian benevolence-the latter class represented a desire for the entire overturning of the then existing state of things, and the transfer of all power into anti-Mormon hands, under the direction of Congress and the Gov- ernment, The chairman of the meeting in question-R. H. Robertson-who " had referred to the forcible abolition of slavery as a precedent," and General Maxwell, who " stated his unwillingness to make any such request of Congress " as the reconsideration and and modification of the Cullom Bill, were the men who gave the real utterance of the Liberal party, and of the will and intentions of the administration at that critical moment. The " abolition of slavery " by military force was the precedent which the administration actually designed to apply to Utah during that year, and the new batch of Federal officials had been appointed by President Grant for the carrying out of this design.

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History of Salt Lake City, Part 60

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194