The result of the election for members of the legislature was—

The result, most gratifying to the members of the Liberal party, and correspondingly distasteful to the People's party, was the demonstration that, in a hotly contested election, the Liberal party had polled a majority of 41 in the vote of the city of Salt Lake, and had secured a voice which could be heard and an influence which could be felt in both branches of the legislature.

An instance of the temper and disposition of the Mormon party under defeat, where they have the power left to show the intense aversion they have to anything not under their own control, is to be found in their official action since the result of the recent election in Weber County and the city of Ogden was known.

Ever since Ogden has had an organized municipal existence it has constituted but one precinct, though divided into several polling places, and had but one justice of the peace under the Territorial law which provides one such magistrate for each precinct.

At the August election the Anti Mormon element of the precinct proved to be in the majority, and elected an "Anti-Mormon justice of the peace for the ensuing term of two years.

Within three days after the election the county court, which is composed of Mormons, except the probate judge who is ex-officio a member and is appointed by the President, made an order-as they had the power to do under the Territorial law-abolishing Ogden precinct, and in its stead creating four precincts, and again proceeding to act under the power given it by the Territorial statutes appointed four justices to fill the vacancies caused by the abolition of the old and the formation of the new precincts.

Con

Another instance is in point. In Beaver County, under former Territorial laws, the probate judge has always been a Mormon, and was always allowed by the county court a salary of $200 per annum. gress having lately by law provided for the appointment of the probate judges by the President of the United States, and the President having appointed a non-Mormon as probate judge for Beaver County, immediately after his appointment the Mormon county court met and reduced his salary to $5 per annum.

On the 14th day of August, 1889, the Commission adopted and caused to be published the following regulations to govern the conduct of the municipal election to be held in and for Salt Lake City, February 10, 1890:

CIRCULAR OF THE UTAH COMMISSION.

Suggestions for the municipal election.

The Utah Commission issues the following circular to the registration officers who are to act for the municipal election to take place in Salt Lake City, February 10, 1890:

(1) The Utah Commission will appoint one chief registration officer for the city of Salt Lake, and one deputy registration officer for each municipal precinct in said

city, who shall commence the work of registration on Monday, the 4th day of November. A. D. 1889, and complete such registration as soon as practicable.

(2) It shall be the duty of the city registration officer prior to the 1st day of Novem ber, A. D. 1889, to apply to the county clerk of Salt Lake County for a certified copy of the registry-list, as last returned to him, of all the precincts within the corporate limits of said city.

(3) Said registration officer, upon the receipt of said lists, shall, by himself or deputy, and before the third Monday in December next, which will be the 16th day of said month, visit every dwelling-house and place of abode in each precinct of said city, and make careful inquiry if any person whose name is on said list has died or removed from the precinct, or is otherwise disqualified as a voter, and if so, to erase the name therefrom; or whether any qualified voter resides therein whose name is not on said registration list, and if so, he shall ascertain upon what ground said person claims to be a voter, and shall require any such person entitled to vote and desiring to be registered to take and subscribe to the following oath:

TERRITORY OF UTAH, County of Salt Lake:

I, being duly sworn (or affirmed) depose and say that I am over twentyone years of age, that I have resided in the Territory of Utah for six months last past and in this precinct for one month immediately preceding the date hereof; that I am a native-born (or naturalized as the case may be) citizen of the United States; that my full name is , that I am - years of age; that my place of business is that I am a (single or) married man; that the name of my lawful wife is and that I will support the Constitution of the United States and will faithfully obey the laws thereof, and especially will obey the act of Congress approved March 22, 1882, entitled "An act to amend section 5352 of the Revised Statutes of the United States in reference to bigamy and for other purposes," and that I will also obey the act of Congress of March 3, 1887, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled an act to amend section 5352 of the Revised Statutes of the United States in reference to bigamy and for other purposes, approved March 22, 1882," in respect to the crimes in said act defined and forbidden, and that I will not, directly or indirectly, aid or abet, counsel or advise, any other person to commit any of said crimes, defined by acts of Congress as polygamy, bigamy, unlawful cohabitation, incest, adultery, and fornication.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this

day of

1889. Precinct,

Deputy Registration Officer for

County.

(4) Although the person applying to have his name registered as a voter may have made the foregoing oath, yet if the registrar shall, for reasonable or probable cause, believe that the applicant is then, in fact, a bigamist, polygamist, or living in unlawful cohabitation, or associating or cohabiting poylgamously with persons of the other sex, or has been convicted of bigamy, polygamy, unlawful cohabitation, incest, adul tery, or fornication, in our opinion the registrar may require the applicant to make the following additional affidavit:

TERRITORY OF UTAH, County of Salt Lake:

I, further swear (or affirm) that I am not a bigamist, polygamist, or living in unlawful cohabitation, or associating or cohabiting polygamously with persons of the other sex, and that I have not been convicted of the crime of bigainy, polygamy, unlawful cohabitation, incest, adultery, or fornication.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this

day of

A. D. 18-.

Deputy Registration Officer for

Precinct, Salt Lake City.

(NOTE. Those parts of the above forms in relation to being sworn or affirmed and as to being a native-born or naturalized citizen, or as to being single or married man, should be changed by erasure or a line drawn through the words, so as to be applicable to the case.)

Upon the receipt of such affidavit the officer shall place the name of such voter upon the registry list of such precinct.

(5) It shall also be the duty of the registration officer to give public notice in the newspapers of the city at least one week beforehand that he will be and remain, by himself or deputy, at his office, the place of which shall be properly designated by

street and number, during the week commencing on the 4th Monday in December next, which will be the 23d day of said month, for the purpose of entering on the registry list of any precinct in said city the name of any voter which may have been omitted, on such voter appearing and taking the oath aforesaid, if he has not previously taken and subscribed the same, and to make other corrections; that he shall remain at his said office from nine till twelve o'clock a. m., from two to five, and from seven to nine o'clock p. m., for the convenience of the public.

(6) The registration officers are urgently requested (and neglect thereof will subject them to removal) to make diligent inquiry and use all reasonable means to ascertain the names which appear upon the registry lists of all persons who have died, or permanently removed from the precinct, or are otherwise disqualified as voters, and to erase all such from the list, it being the earnest wish of the Commission to eliminate from the list the names of all persons who are not residents of the city, and not legally qualified under the law to vote.

(7) Upon the completion of the list the registration officer shall prepare triplicate lists in alphabetical order for each precinct, containing the names of all registered voters, one of which lists shall be filed in the office of the city recorder on or before the second Monday in January. 1890, which will be the 13th day of said month; one list to be posted up in each precinct at least fifteen days before the election (10th February, 1890), at or near the place of election, and the other list transmitted by him to the presiding judge of election of the several precincts for use at the polls, and the oaths or affirmation of the registered voters, immediately after the day of the election shall be delivered to the clerk of the probate court of Salt Lake County.

(8) Prior to the election the city registration officer shall cause to be written or printed a notice which shall designate the office or offices to be filled, and stating that the election will commence at (designating the place for holding the polls), one hour after sunrise, and continue until sunset on the - day of Dated at Salt Lake City, on this - day of, A. D. 18—.

189-.

Registration Officer.

A copy of which should be posted up at least fifteen days before the day of election, in three public places in each precinct in the city, calculated to give notice to all the voters. It is the duty of the registration officer to give notice on the lists posted as aforesaid that the city registration officer will hear objections to the right to vote of any person registered, until sunset on the fifth day preceding the day of the election. Said objection shall be made by a qualified voter, in writing, and delivered to the said city registration officer, who shall issue a written notice to the person objected to, stating the day, place, and hour when the objection shall be heard. The person making the objection shall serve, or cause to be served, said notice on the person objected to, and shall also make return of such service to the city registration officer before whom the objection is to be heard. In our opinion the objection should specify the grounds thereof and should be made separately as to each person objected to; and actual personal service should be proved by the affidavit of the person making the same, unless service and return thereof be made by an officer authorized by law to serve process, and at least three days, notice should be given. Upon the hearing of the case, if said officer shall find that the person objected to is not a qualified voter, he shall, within three days prior to the election, transmit a certified list of all such disqualified persons to the judges of election appointed by the Commission; and said judges should strike such names from the registry list before the opening of the polls. In view of the numerous complaints that have been made with respect to the working of this provision of the law, the Commission recommends that when a decision is made by the registration officer, striking the name of a person from the list of voters, the fact be made known to him without delay, either orally or in writing.

(9) The Commission being solicitous to secure a perfect registration of the qualified voters of the city, and to prevent, as far as is in their power, all frauds in the election, further suggests as a matter of cantion, and with a view to the identity of electors, that the registration officers of the different precincts in the city, at the time of making the registration list, shall enter opposite each name on the list the place of residence of the voter, by street and number, and his occupation; and in all cases of removal from one precinct to another that the residence from which the voter removed shall be entered, as well as the one to which the change is made; and to carry out this suggestion the Commission will furnish to the registration officers books properly ruled for the purpose.

G. L. GODFREY,

Chairman.

On the 21st of August it appointed a registration officer for the city and five deputy registrars for the several voting precincts, and the appointees having accepted, they were invited to and did meet with the

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Commission for more full and complete instruction in regard to the terms of the circular, which was fully explained to them, and received the promise of their entire concurrence and hearty support, and the Com mission believes that the registration lists prepared by them will be purged as far as the law will permit.

The Commission in previous reports has made certain recommenda tions which were, in its opinion, necessary and proper to give force and effect to the provisions of the law under which it was created and which had not yet been enacted into law.

These may be summarized as follows:

(1) In regard to the courts. The conferring upon the district courts jurisdiction of all polygamous and sexual offenses without regard to the place in the Territory where committed; investing them with power co-extensive with that possessed by the United States circuit and dis trict courts in the States in the matter of contempt and the punishment thereof; authorizing the process of subpoena to run from the Territorial courts into any other district of the United States; authorizing the selection of jurors by open venire; providing that when continuance is granted on motion of defendant, depositions of witnesses on the part of the prosecution may be taken on notice and used in case the witness be dead, absent from the Territory, or so concealed as to elude the service of subpoena, and that a sufficient fund to enable the prose cuting officers to efficiently perform their duties and enforce the laws be furnished by the Department of Justice to the proper law officers of the Territory.

(2) That prosecutions for polygamy and bigamy be exempted from the operation of the general statute of limitations.

(3) That the term of imprisonment for unlawful cohabitation, fixed by section 2 of the act of 1882, be extended to at least two years for the first and three years for the second offense. The Commission adds to this the recommendation that the term of imprisonment for polygamy, bigamy, and unlawful cohabitation be extended, and that hard labor be added to the punishment.

(4) That it be made a penal offense for any woman to enter into the marriage relation with any man, knowing him to have a wife living, undivorced, coupled, however, with the provision that in cases where a polygamous wife is called as a witness against the husband, her testimony could not be used in any future prosecution against her, and a like provision as to the husband.

(5) The appointment of the Territorial auditor, treasurer, commis sioners to locate university lands, probate judges, county clerks, selectmen, assessors and collectors, recorders and superintendents of district schools, by the governor, subject to confirmation by the Commission. (6) That all persons be excluded by law from making a location and settlement upon any of the public lands who shall refuse on demand to take and subscribe an oath, before a proper officer of the land office in which his or her application is made, that he or she does not cohabit with more than one man or one woman, as the case may be, in the marriage relation, and that he or she will obey the laws of the United States in relation to polygamy and bigamy.

(7) That the laws with reference to the immigration of Chinese, and the importation of contract laborers, paupers, and criminals be so amended as to prevent the immigration of persons claiming that their religion justifies the crime of polygamy.

(8) A Constitutional amendment forever prohibiting polygamy. (9) The enactment of a law creating a board to consist of the gov

ernor, Utah Commission, and the secretary of the Territory, to apportion Salt Lake City into aldermanic and councilmanic districts.

The Commission respectfully recommends all these propositions to the attention of Congress, and in addition makes the following recommendations:

(10) Authorizing this commission, in its discretion, to cause to be made annually a new registration instead of revisions of former lists, and to make and enforce rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of the United States for the conduct of registrations and elections.

(11) That Congress pass laws for the government and conduct of public schools in the Territory of Utah.

(12) That as soon as the result of the census of 1890 is known, there be created a board consisting of the governor, Utah Commission, and secretary of the Territory with power to redistrict the Territory for legislative purposes.

Some of these propositions are of grave importance, and may provoke much discussion and adverse criticism. Those relating to the practice in the courts will be at once understood by our law-makers, and need no explanation.

The Commission asks power to make a new registration and to enforce rules and regulations regarding the conduct of registrations and elections, not from any desire to increase its duties and responsibilities, but because it believes new registrations to be simpler and better than revisions, and that better results would come from a judicious exercise of such powers if conferred. Under the present laws of Congress it can only recommend a course of action to its registration officers and judges of election, and has a dual set of laws to govern its own actions, the laws of Congress, and the laws of the Territory, and the latter are not always free from questions of doubtful construction, and sometimes stand in the way of beneficial reforms, neither provided for nor inhibited by Congress, but within the spirit and purport of its expressed or known intentions.

In regard to a law establishing and regulating the management of free schools, the Commission is not of the opinion that the legislature of Utah, as likely to be constituted for some time to come, can be expected or trusted to establish a system of free schools in sympathy with the enlightenment of the age, or free from the teachings of polygamy and so-called revelations, and therefore recommend that Congress assume the duty of providing for the education and enlightenment of the youth of the Territory.

The Commission believes the limitation on prosecutions for polygamy and bigamy should be extended, among other reasons, because, under the peculiar missionary service of the church it is easy for one to enter polygamy, go on a mission for three years, and return to assume his polygamous relations, defying the authorities to punish him for the main offense, and be in danger only of prosecution for the lesser offense of unlawful cohabitation. The term of imprisonment for this offense should be increased to meet this state of affairs, and sentence of hard labor should be added, that their confinement may not be spent in idleness and glorification of their supposed martyrdom.

The Commission has no doubt that punishment of the woman for voluntarily entering the polygamous relation would do much to lessen her zeal for the peculiar institution, and thus tend to remove one of its strongest bulwarks.