THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas Congress by a statute approved March 22, 1882, and by statutes
in furtherance and amendment thereof defined the crimes of bigamy,
polygamy, and unlawful cohabitation in the Territories and other places
within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States and prescribed a
penalty for such crimes; and

Whereas on or about the 6th day of October, 1890, the Church of the
Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, through its
president issued a manifesto proclaiming the purpose of said church no
longer to sanction the practice of polygamous marriages and calling upon
all members and adherents of said church to obey the laws of the United
States in reference to said subject-matter; and

Whereas it is represented that since the date of said declaration the
members and adherents of said church have generally obeyed said laws and
have abstained from plural marriages and polygamous cohabitation; and

Whereas by a petition dated December 19, 1891, the officials of said
church, pledging the membership thereof to a faithful obedience to the
laws against plural marriage and unlawful cohabitation, have applied to
me to grant amnesty for past offenses against said laws, which request a
very large number of influential non-Mormons residing in the Territories
have also strongly urged; and

Whereas the Utah Commission in their report bearing date September
15, 1892, recommend that said petition be granted and said amnesty
proclaimed, under proper conditions as to the future observance of the
law, with a view to the encouragement of those now disposed to become
law-abiding citizens; and

Whereas during the past two years such amnesty has been granted to
individual applicants in a very large number of cases, conditioned
upon the faithful observance of the laws of the United States against
unlawful cohabitation, and there are now pending many more such
applications:

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States,
by virtue of the powers in me vested, do hereby declare and grant a full
amnesty and pardon to all persons liable to the penalties of said act by
reason of unlawful cohabitation under the color of polygamous or plural
marriage who have since November 1, 1890, abstained from such unlawful
cohabitation, but upon the express condition that they shall in the
future faithfully obey the laws of the United States hereinb