OUR LETTER BOX.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 7, 9 January 1904, Page 2

OUR LETTER BOX.

(Wc are at all times willing lo publish correspondence oil mailers of public interest, but it must, be distinctly understood that we are not identified Willi the letters of our correspondents.—Ed. Daily News.) "DEATH UY MOSAIC LAW." (To the Editor.) Sir,—ln this morning's issue of the News, under the heading Death by Mosaic Law," an account was given of a legal execution i aL the Utah Stale Penitentiary. The article reIjerned to ?); xtyjy testing grave relied ion 'Upon the Church of i Jesus Christ of hntteividay Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church. 1 am a member of that denomination, till recently a resident of Utah, and still have constant access to the newspapers, both Mormon and mm-Mornwni, of Salt .Lake? City, 1 am, Hh-cwl'iore, a po?iit-i<>)i to know the facts relating to the unfortunate ease of l'eler MorUjnsew. It is witli the hope'that you wiH do justice, to a people who have been placud in a false light before tihe readers of your valuable paper that I venture to Ix'g the privilege of replying, through your columns, to the above-mentioned article. According

to the article it would appear lhai the Mormon Church, instead of the civil WUcers i)t »f the of Utah, executed the criminal, which is not the case. He was executed according

o the laws of Utah, by the State 3llicers. To make the matter plain

let us 'suppose tlvaJt a main named Mortenscn, belonging to the dominant. church of New Zealhnd, to murder member of Chut church and t;:vat he had been tried condemned and executed by live ot!\cers of the Crown, would it bp con sistent, in reporting the incident, to say : —Mortensen was an Anglican. His victim was an Anglican. He d'ijDd fin A.nglican meUwrt as old

as thi« Church insLitutiMi ? And yet it is quite a|> as it ; was to make the same statement about the Mormon Church. Tluene is im more connection Ix'tween the State (iovernment of Utah and ll.e Mormon Church than there is between

the CJovernm-ent of Now Zealand and tho Salvation Army. The greater portion of the jury that pronounced Afortensen gu'itoy, the judge who sen-

tenced him, two out of the throe judges of tho Supreme Court of the Statu, who confirmed the proceeding of the lower court, and doubtless all the executioners, were nonMormon. There ain? as many dilYerent denominations in Utah as there are in New 'Zealand. About onethird of the population of the State, and a greater proportion of the local and Stale oiiicers, lire not of the Mormon persuasion. The Church is not responsible for the methods of execution which were prescribed by the territiorinl and approved by tho Government of the United States. Forty years ago the United States Government exercised complete control over the people of Utah, appointing all the important officers and fully directing the aO'uirs oi State. INiere is not 'another people on the face o-f the earth: who hold human life more sacred than do the Latter-day Saints. The church has always taught that " a murderer •Ivutfo not eternal life abiding 1 in-

him," which, according to its interpretation, means that he is beyond redemption. Every member of that church .who has comimittud murder has been promptly ex-communicated. •Such was the ease with Peter Moiv tensen. When his crime became known the hand of fellowship was withdrawn and he was left, to his fat®. No officer of our church has ever been the spiritual adviser of, or administered comfort or eonsolaiLioi. to, one who has imbrued his hands with human blood. 1 invite comparison of our betief n»td thut of those who teach the possibility of a murderer being waited from tho scaffold of the executioner to the Paradise of God. TJie statement that some of the church ininifters appealed to the Governor of the State in behalf of the murderer is a pure lubrication. 1 'doubt if there ever w,as another criminal in all the world who had fewer friends. He,. his solicitor, hi-fi Put her ,ar. j d one brother, were the only ones thtet made the fruitless appeal. The 'facts abovementioned can be amply substantiated from the eouilt. records and the liles of. tUii «(ti,ni press'of tj:q of Utith.—l am, etj., CHAItLES H. BARTLETT. New Plymouth, Ja.ii. 7, 3904,