Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-08-23

WASHlNGION: SAIU
"We had hoped that all the proofs in this case, and the
criminal himself would have been handed over 10 the cons
authorities and that the services Of the committee would
thus have been Of the greatest possible good the
ny and resist the conviction that such deter
nna.ion Of the matter would have been, in the FUTURE most
satisfactory to every member of the committees and could
not have failed to add great strength the Government and
struck most saluary into the minds Of those gvsn
crime among u.s." latfs
These judicious and well considered views were
expressed in the public prints the very scene Of
the tragedy, Immediately before ana after It's en-
actment; and they doubtless indicate the opinions
Of the more thoughtful and intelligent portion Of
the people of San Francisco. The knowledge Of
any disagreement in the committee would have
elected more general expression Of such senti-
tments and possibly effectusl protest against the
whole proceeding. Or If the committee were una
nimous and unfaltering in their purpose, they may
have dreaded . the sober second thoueitt' Of the
people, and dssired tin y prepare the 0ocnments
which. under the name Of ssconfessiOno and evil
dence, :, ihsy caused 70 be published Immediately
upon the s,rangulaton Of their victim, and on which
they rely for Justification Of their measures. But
whatever the cause, though the signal for the
past nine o'clock in the morning, it was not till
two in The afternoon that the object for which they
had been assembled was promulgated, and il was
then announced that Stuart was to be executed
within an hour.
We have already mentioned that the Commit
tee Of Vigilance" is secret tribunal but, though
the public are not allowed to witness its proceedings,
il cannot fail to be generally known Of whom il is
composed. Their names are not published, how
ever, in the California papers. A correspondent
says most of them are our first merchants, bank
ers, &c in whom the public have confidence"
We do not know who they are; but we know who
is their foreman and mouthpiece, selected doubtless,
in crisis Of extreme gravity, for weight of charac
ter and personal influence, to represent them, to
convey their decisions to the people, and to invoke
the confirmation Of public sentiment on their acts.
That they may have all the benefit 10 be derived
| from the publication Of his name, we quote from
our correspondents letter;
Thousands remained ia the street fronting the Commit
se Room until f,co o'clock r. NJ, when COL JoaH D. STE
vErsos, member out and publicly proclaimed the
result Of the deliberations and that Stuart to be executed
within one hour He made brief statement Of bis crimes
confessed and proved and asked the people for their sppo
val or disspproval is said that the response Of approval
was unanimous with the exception Of three dissenting voices
II will never be known how many in that crowd
dssented from the wild shout of approval that re-
sponded to Col. Stevenson's demand The won
der is that three could be found courageous enough
at that fearful moment to protest their dissent The
| U0r popnk is roaring torrent, that for the time
sweeps every thing before it. So did the populace
| of Paris confirm the sentences imposed by the
Jacobn club, and howl their ecstacy around the
blood streaming qnillniine- They. too had their,
!" Committee of Public Safety and the period Of
its murderous sway is justly stigmasized as the
g Reign Of Terror
/ 1t should be remembered that the people, thus
called upon to ratify sentence which inflicted the
penalty of death upon fellow-being, knew nothing
at all about the testimony adduced against him.
The confession" and the g evidence" were not
published till the day following the tragedy. If
the execution was dependant on their approval Of
the sentence then did the hanging precede the trial
But, though they knew nothing about the guilt or
innocence Of Stuart, they knew that another man,
Thomas Burdue, had been tried and convicted at
Marysvie, eight days before, to wit, on the Sd Of
July, as being the sole perpetrator OF the same MUIR
der for which Stuart was then to suffer. This was
no doubt case Of mistaken identity. Still the fact
that trial for murder, deliberately prosecuted be-
fore legally organized tribunal where the prisoner
had all the privileges of counsel and witnesses, and
the many safeguards in respect to the nature Of the
evidence adduced against him provided by the hu-
manty Of the law-whch prefers that ten guilty
persons should escape rather than that one who is
innocent should suffer-had resulted in the c0nvc-
ton of an innocent man; this fact alone should
have suggested grave doubts to the possibility Of
error in the result of hurried investigation, prose-
cuted without any Of the safeguards so essential,
even if sometimes inadequate, 10 the protection Of
innocence. But the response given BY the multi
tude did not import approval of the sentence, but
only willingness to see an execution. Authority
emanating from law asks no clamorous approval of
its DEGREES. The peace and order Of society, the
harmony of the world, give silent sanction to its ex-
ercse. The events that followed this appeal to the
popular sense are thus briefly recapituated by the
San Francisco Post:
"The whole body Of the committee issued from the build
ing. armed with pistols &c. and forming In sections march
cd in column the place Of execution, having Stuart hand
cuffed in their centre, the end Of Market street wharf,
where sslIows was already srsAed The prisoner
rounded BY the committee and outside whols wharf
covered with the Slsnt awe-ricken multitude; and when
the rope adjusted around his neck, III given zig
nal the moving stood uncovered, pale, and silent
deahs single Of brsahlsss suspense, and the VIC
tim dangling In the aa few contrscons
Of the muscles and oil was over He hung cold insni-
mate gbaay corpse his soul had departed 10 judgment be-
fore the tribunal Of God The committee then retraced their
steps in silence to their ROOM
We invoke no sympathy for the victim. He
was man Of crime and blood, and his existence
was incompatible with the safety Of society. The