Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1851-09-18
San FaAsclsco, July 81, 1851.



My pen has lain idle for
n long time, not iOr the want OF ma ierial
TO make up a communication, 80 much
rs the want OF time 10 put II on paper
Ups and downs are the order Of the day
in California, but for u .cw months pas.
"iowns have hcen in the nscendancy.
San Francisco burnt down pnd Stock.
Ton. not liking 10 be ontdonc by The Bay
City" burnt down too. Whether the
! burning oi Stockton aroused the jen'.
4 ousy OF San Francisco. or not. ! am ua-
| able to say, hut IN order 10 keep force
with the onward march Of contiagration,
this city at the earliest possible moment
that in, as soon as sufficient number Of
innammable Buildings could be erected.
got up another very pretty fire, from
which il has not yet recovered. About
this time the "Vigilance Committee"
was organized, for the purpose Of elera-
ting certain members OF this model com
munity. who had been dopn too long for
their own good. or that OF society. The
"modus operand' adopted by The Com
miltee' Of eierdting those whom they
took in hand placing them in COM
manding position, - was, perhaps, not
the most agreeable in the world ; and,
/ i'm fact, il cannot BE- denied that it was
strongly objected TO by the individuals
themselves, but public men, men Of no.
toricty, are often compelled TO endure
what is repugnant 10 their feelings for
the sake OF pleasing the mass, and the
inJ1riIuals in question, probably feeling
/ il utterly useless to insist OH any aIiera-
n az -. ,I, c,,h,,;tt., | n Iu,n
instances of "ups" are all have TO re-
cord those of Jenkins diiaS Bucns, and
Stewart. The COMMITTEE" have 9TH
ers of the same kidney but what will
be done with them do not know. The
sViyllance Committee" is composed Of
the primest and most influential men o!
the city, and it has done II vast deal of
good. Ii is composed of about ore thou
said and such objections as would eX
l cludc man from becoming Odd Eel
low would exclude him from becoming
a member OF the Vigilance Commit
tee" OF this city. Their expenses
amount to about $4,000 per month,
which sum is readily made up among
their own number. Besides this they
have raised $4,000 for the completion
III " tIlC WY piiSOli, huHC
| offer of $4,000 for the arrest of an incen-
diary. The court. too, through the ac'
ton of this body, have been inciIcd TO
action, and if they continue to do mp
business as promptly as they have for Il
few weeks past, this community will
soon become purgcd of IL portion Of its
more daring rogurs, business will be-
come settled, the markets assume sta
biIity, and good result 10 all concerned.
| Business for some time past, has been
Il quite brisk. though most kinds OF goods
Il have been selling al Il loss 70 shippers
Il Stockton never was doing more busi-
| ness than at present, while Sacramento
has been gradually mIiIng oft. The
| fire in Stockton derang"d business there
II for a time, the entire business portion OF
| the town being consumed, together with
nearly all the goods on hand, but i, has
arisen Ph9nix like though many OF its
II buildings are mere temporary cdiices,
1 while some few brick ones are going mp.
I There are in this city n imbcr OF fihe
|, brick buildings, four and five storlcs
II high and many more in the course of
L erection. put up in Il substantial man
H ner, calculated 20 withstand the fcrccst
4 flames. Uncle Sam is erecting thrce
large cast-iron Buildings, iour stories
high. on Battery street, 10 be used as
Il bonded warehouses.
Il Drink ny Saloons, attended by pretty
women. are all the rage in this city, and
\ in order to attract attention, many Of the
dear creatures have donned the Bloom
| or style Of costume. a pretty Young
I,..l ii
store in Clay street was the frs, who
appeared in Boomer and Tor few
| days the street. in the immediate vicin-
II iiy Of her store WAS so tllrongcd with
| gents striving 10 get peep al her, that
il was almost impossible TO pass, and
and understand she sold ou, every ar
tiolc OF gen,lcmans apparel the very first
Il day. A friend OF mine tod me he
threw away his bat.band so that he
II might make IN crrand into her shop to
n get peep ut her. Ladies are getting
more abundant every day, large "invoi.
ces" having recently arrived from the
II English colonies and France and In a
sh.rt time | cxpsc, they, like most other
articles Of merchandise, will be quoted
below par.
II Our State and Congressional election
takes place IN September, and it is I'm
II possible to conjecture which party will
cone out triumphant. The candidates
for Congress and for State officers, from
the Govcrnprship down, have BEEN very
busy for lew weeks stumping the
State, and each one thinks 10 doubt,
that the election is safe.
II have no astounding discoveries OF
Il god to relate. Too many large stories
Il have already gone home, and too many
credu!ous ones have been victimised.