THE ABOLITION OF POLIGAMY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2134, 6 December 1890, Page 3

THE ABOLITION OF POLIGAMY.

SCENE DT THE TABEBNACMS. The following extract from a letter from a New Zealander, who was present in the Morman tabernacle when the President's manifesto abolishing polygamy was read, has been plaeed at our (Ohristchurch Press) disposal:— "As we passed through Salt Lake, President Woodruff's manifesto was

issued, instructing the elect and Mormons generally to abstain from plural marriages, and fall inte line with i U.S. laws. For the last year the authorities at Washington hare been prosecuting all Mormons found guilty of indulging in this luxury. Quite a number hare been imprisoned, and recently, by order of the Supreme Court, Church property, amounting to about 1,250,000d015., has been confiscated, and is now held by order of the Court awaiting some such dispensation as will be agreed upon by the majority of the people of the territery, so that this property may become an endowment for educational purposes. On our return to bait Lake—we were there on the sth, 6th, and 7th inst., and on Sunday, the 16th —this manifesto was brought up by President Woodruff and Bishop Canon, and rote<? upon by the Mormons assembled in the Tabernacle. I went to the afternoon service when the rote was taken, and looked down upon the faces of what they claim to be a full house, the people standing in the aisles, on the main floer, and at the back of the gallery, said to contain 8000 and 6000 respectively, together, 14,000. Allowing for considerable exaggeration, I think it is quite safe to say that there were not less than 10,000 people in sight from the seat of the President. The question as to the abandonment of plural marriages was put to the rote and carried unanimously, not a single hand being held up in f aror of plural marriages. When the Gilchrist family eame across the plains in '63 to California, they were conreyed by a Mormon train under the command of Captain Murdock. We took occasion to look up the old gentleman who brought them as far as Salt Lake, and in looking for him the next day I got into the priests' gallery, on Monday, the 6th, for the purpose of locating him, but of course was ordered out as being no place for an ordinary Gentle, Instead, however, of going to the gallery where I was sent, when the eyes ef the doorkeeper were directed elsewhere, I slipped into a corner among the so-called priests, and one of them kindly gare me a front seat in his neighborhood. From there I was able to look over the sea of faces below me, not so many as on the previous day by, say, 2000 in the gallery. I have never before had an opportunity of looking so many people in the face at one time, and they certainly are the commonest, poorestlooking lot of people I hare erer set eyes upon, both male and female. The men of years were wrinkled, haggard, and looked as if they were over-worked; the young men thin and not at all bright looking; the women, especially the elders, very careworn and aged looking; the young women poorly-bred, ill-dressed, and altogether very inferior stock, but the number of babies something to be remembered, and the pulling, crying and yelling that was going on all the time must hare made the apostles very angry, for sometimes it was rery difficult to hear the voice of the speaker. The description of the people forming the bulk of the audience does not apply in any way to the President, the Bishop, or the Apostles. These men are large of stature, well fed, well dressed, and altogether well kept, like well groomed horses. 'lhey did all the talking, and appear to do all the maaaging, control the finances, and as commonly reported hare a very soft thing. Listening to these Mormons, Bishops, and Apostles, and the familiar manner in which they speak about rerelations from the Most High to Joseph bmith, Brigham Young, President Woodruff, and others, sounded to me rery curious, and apparently these intelligent men of the world, as the apostles are, seem to beliere what they were speaking about. It was a phase of human nature quite new to me."