The Belle Harris Case
By Alahna Petersen copied from History of Belle Harris
Just Compare the Two Cases
The case of Belle Harris is one of considerable interest and importance. It will attract general attention. It should be considered side by side with the case of Carrington, the Farmingtown bigamist, the particulars of which appear in another part of this paper. On one side is a lady with a nursing infant, having another child from whom she was forcibly separated, torn from her home in Monroe, Sevier County, brought from Beaver to this city, and after a fatigued journey yesterday and all night, put in a lumber wagon and hauled to the penitentiary. What for? Because she declined to answer questions from the Grand Jury of the Second Judicial District as to whether she was a married woman and who was her husband.............
Belle Harris is evidently a lady possessed of considerable strength of character. Residing in rural district and unaccustomed to the ways of courts and legal methods, She has shown that when necessary she can grasp a principle and stand by it. The question put to her by the Grand Jury was threefold. ‘Are you a married woman and if so, to whom were you married and when?’ was the triple query propounded. She replied that this was a privilege question, and she stood upon her privilege and declined to answer. It is for this refusal that she she stands committed. Observe the information sought to be elicited was not in relation to her knowledge of an alleged crime. It was reference to herself. With a babe in her arms the question itself was an implied insult. We are in favor of sustaining the law and its officers, but we must admire the courage of belle harris in declining to reply to questions in relation to herself, which we think no court has the right to compel her to answer.
She is now in the penitentiary. But there is no taint of crime clinging to her garments. She is defending a principle. The rights and privileges of witnesses are as precious and sacred to us as the rights of courts. Belle Harris is suffering in their defense........
One Law For Mormons Another For Gentiles
Carrington was discharged although they had proof and he had admitted being married to two woman, claiming a divorce, which was not legal. But the prosecutors did not seem to want to use the evidence against him.
Contrast this case with that of Belle Harris, and say much justice there is in either. This man Carrington committed bigamy, of which there can be no legal doubt. When accused, his arrest was not wanted; when that became necessary he was allowed to slip out of the Territory; and if he had had sense enough to keep himself out of the way, he would never have been captured. And now after proof enough to condemn any defendant in the eyes of the law and of the public,he is discharged by a very friendly and accommodating official. On the other hand, Belle Harris, for simply declining to answer questions concerning her own private affairs put to her by an attorney who had no right to be present as an inquisitor, in confined in the penitentiary, bail offered to any amount pending an appeal being pre-emptorily refused. Why this discrimination? Simply this; Dr. Carrington is a Gentile of the Gentiles. Belle Harris is a Mormon. The discharged bigamist is known to have violated the law; the imprisoned witness is supposed to be a plural wife.
Musings
A Weekly Column by Damarco Montoya
David the Great
Some might wonder how a meager little mouse could ever become “great”. Meager mice typically waste away into cat or ant food during periods of civil conflict and food scarcity, as such was the case in the once great community of Willow Hollow. Finding food used to be a family affair; a skill passed down from father to son in order to maintain family health and strength. Just as soon as a mouse tyrant put on his cloak of truth and mask of kindness and started dictating how families should live in the name of “justice” in relation to a centralized governing body, David knew he needed to gather his courage and friends and stand for what he believed in.
David represented the rest of his family well with light brown somewhat disheveled fur and sincerity in his eyes. He was thinner than much of his family yet still full of life. The community knew them and embraced them as the honest and hard-working members of society they proved themselves to be. His father and mother gave birth to 15 brothers and sisters, a regular amount for the average mouse family of Willow Hollow. He was of the youngest in his family and therefore had yet to find a mate with whom he could share the joys of family living with. He greatly admired his parents and looked forward to having the kind of life they had; one that’s tough at times yet full of joy.
The problems originated with a dictator of a mouse who preached to the masses about utopian living. He stood before groups with his piercing red eyes and well-groomed white fur and told everyone they should give what they have to one governing body so everyone would have an equal amount. No longer would there be rich or poor; everyone would be equal in everything. He went on and on with that sort of speech and convinced many he should lead the governing body and take control of everyone’s earnings. His cunning tongue and different appearance conned them into giving him power over their way of life.
David’s family started suffering as food was harder to find. The masses hunted more frequently in order to have close to as much as they used to have before they had to give their spoils to this dictator. They struggled for a decent meal and therefore began losing weight and energy. Having the strength of youth, David decided to take a stand. He just didn’t know what to do or where to start. The movement that called themselves the “government” grew quickly to a well-organized over-powering force. The masses made up the majority of everyone in Willow Hollow. To find “friends” might have proven to be difficult for such a meager mouse but David was determined.
How does he do it? How did he go from being a meager mouse to being a “great” mouse? No matter which one of the hundreds that made up the governing body, or one of the relatively few (maybe as much as 100) who made up the newly formed movement of those behind David’s very own Righteous, everyone knew the answer to such a question. He first recognized there were others who felt as he did; frustrated that his neighbors and friends had to work twice as hard for even less, and had to succumb to ridiculous regulation. He then began in very small ways to undermine their progress. He took his newly found friends and acted in protest in very simple ways to get around the unrighteous governmental regulations. He held secret meetings (secret meetings were necessary since such actions invited enemies from many directions) to discuss openly with those of the masses in order to open their eyes to what was happening and how things should be different.
Like trying to run up a mudslide on a rainy day, much effort is required to gain even the smallest of advantage toward reaching the top. If any progress was halted then advantage was greatly lost as the movement would slide down with the mud. This meager mouse defied odds. His lot of Righteous stood strong with conviction as they thwarted as many efforts of the governor as was feasible and some still that seemed impossible. The Righteous remain growing in strength since they have a strong leader, a “great” leader who reproves himself every day. This governor with his greedy red eyes loses a little power as his devotee’s eye’s become opened. The idea he would ever fear a meager mouse was once laughable. He does, and that’s what makes David “great”.
The Leaf Challenge
Across
2. Where the pilgrims landed
5. Nailed 95 theses to a church door
7. Declaration of ________________
9. Circumnavigated the Earth
10. Treaty of ______________
13. _________ Awakening
14. Home of famous witch trials
19. Colony in Virginia
21. Where Raleigh settled
22. Commander of the Continental Army
23. A famous John
Down
1. An explorer of the Northeast
3. Number of original colonies
4. Council of _____________
6. ___________ and Indian War
8. Someone who traded with England
11. ___________ of Supremacy
12. A Spanish explorer
15. Where a decisive battle was fought
16. Massachusetts ________ Colony
17. What the first Continental Congress sought with Britain
18. The way the British Parliament acted toward the Colonies
20. Pilgrim shipCongratulations to Alahna Petersen of Hufflepuff House, Robert Petersen of Gryffindor House and Professor Hunt of Gryffindor House for answering this week Ravenclaw Challenge!
-Minerva BronteThe End of the Fountain of Fair Fortune
By Emma Palmer
Fountain of Fair Fortune Closes
By Jane Smith
As you approach the end of your third year at Quercus Alba, take some time to reflect on your experience so far.
How have you changed and grown since you received your QA Letter?
What have you learned in charms? Or muggle studies?
What have you accomplished? Where have you chosen to spend your time and effort?
Now think about what you would like to get out of your time at magic school. Consider your goals and make new ones if necessary. Make plans to achieve them. How can you better focus your efforts? What skills need more refinement? How can you better take responsibility for your own education?
Most importantly, how can you grow into the person you want to be?
Let’s all come back refreshed and enthusiastic for another year at Quercus Alba!
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