New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-11-11

.ured on a qualified dlsspproyal 81 1hs hanging
and OF the organization OF me Score; Committee
BIZ, n very feg days, II found reasons IoI
. odif,ns - views, IN dimlnHuoa oi us aver
tisirg patronage" and OF is subscription list
ne TACT Is. .ha. never was neWsptpel press
so utterly depsndens as that OF san rrAnci>co
for rs yerv existence. upon the favor oitne ouSi-
ness community Their expenses are so ehof'
nous and their circulation 50 very limited Vh's
last hardly exceeding l,CC0 or Loo IN me CITY
In the case Of any newspaper tnat they nave 20
rely for suppOr; exclusively Oh lntlT alVertlse-
m.nis and iof.work These come, OF course
from the business community aud a dozen
lesfinr houses OF san Francisco hold IN their
hands the fa:s OF any newspaper nf'Hunale-
", for the Independence a. the press. aud the
cause OF good government. the business com
nunIty. aud especially the dozen leading houses
were vehement fos the hanging and TOR the
Secret Committee The consequence has 0een,
thst ron first 10 last, the press II THIS city has
been muzzled by censorship Is rlsid ana ei-
fectual A. that alch governs the press ia Cuoa
The press has 10 speak, II Il speaks N all o.
the Committee and rs dOlngs, m terms OF IN
qualified praise and sorry am to say. that this
SORT of vassalage does mol seem AZ ali Tepughant
10 the Journalists OF san Francisco Hence Il
Is that you get from the newspapers only ths
most partial aud One-sded views 90 the matter /.
IN which. even the most uudOubtcd facts are
suppressed of distorted. Then the Vigilance
Committee was fairly organized, rs leading
members bang the iGpd-hoiders affected b. me ds-
clsioas ALREADY spoken Of, and their adherentS.
PASS over the subsequent dOlnsS 81 the Com
mit,ee--lts establishment as the criminal gov
eminent de facto, us hanglng OF Stewart us open
defiance OF the laws and authorities ana hasten
20 the laies, of rs acts, the double hanging on
one dav, and that on the Lords day, 0i W hltia-
ker and Mckenzie
These two men, known TO be connected with
an organized gang of sydney con'lcts 10 TINS
city had been captured by the Committee, ana
had been for several days n their custody, I'M
der examination. making confessions and what
not, obtained from them God knows by what
IN proper nducement-and Il was generally con
cedea by the Committee men themselves, that
the evidence against them WAS not al al con
elusive. Hence, they argued, they would not
surrender the men to the authorities, because
they could not he convicted sv law and they're
solved to hang them Thus much could De m
TERED from the revelations n the members OF the
Committee out of doors; for throughout their
proesfdnss had beea conducted with the Ut
most secrecy. always with closed doors and gen
orally at night, none but members beng ad-
mitted, and BY private pass word. Of the eVl-
Gence, or thar could be called -, gwen under
such circumstances, and without the iOrmallIy
of an OATH the Committee allowed rs much or
rs little to see the light as suited their own
views.
The evening before the day fixed for the hang
ING the fact leaked ont and the authorizes,
which had hitherto lam down suplnc and allow
ed themselves and the laws committed 20 their
charge to be hidden over rough-shod. without
even decent show Of resistance, suddenly
aroused themselves from their diSgraceiul SUB
mission, and by Z cegp DE- nam, more remarkable
for its adroitne>s than It's bodncss or dignity,
rescued the two men from the Committee rooms
al 3 O'Clock IN the morning, and lodged them IN
the County Jail The fury OF the Committee
and It's newspaper organs, the next day. may De
much better imagined than described. One
woHld have supposed that the Committee, belng
composed OF the most respectable merchants,
1.-THE fr>t citizens" and 80 ON, would have been
rather pleased to be ud OF responsibility So
tremendous as that involved IN taking the lives
OF two ellow.creatuTes, not only without law,
but against il A. and would have been glad that
the prisoners had found their way INTO The hands
of the authorities, and the Courts especially
IS the latter were allowed or all sides 10 have
administered the laws for several months, with
abundant ngoT.
One would have thought this OF any body OF
Christian men, particularly If 1.-The most respect
able merchants" and the first citizens" OF
leading commercial city. Alas, no II you can
conceive the rage OF a Nero cheated out OF
hccatOmb OF victims, or the Jury OF Wild beast
robbed OF his bloody banquet, you can Imagine
the frenzy of the Vigilance Committee OF san
Francisco at having two pale and trembling
wIetches snatched from their grasp by the OH.
GERS Of the law few hours before the time fixed
for their hanging The tiger had tasted blood,
and would hot be banked OF his savage appetite.
Not Justice OF order. or security Tor lie ana
property was now the ruling motive, but too
manlfesily thirst for human LIE, and BIND,
fierce passion 10 triumph over the laws al any
risk The authorities, as II exhausted by their
brief effort, lay supine, while the Committee
were plotting how 10 wrest the prisoners from
their hands. With such secrecy were the opera
tions Of the Committee carried on, that the au.
thorities dreamed OF no harm, and even refused
the services OF over a hundred citizens who vol
unteered TO guard the Jail, which was then and
Is vet but halftas,ened building not carried
beyond It's first story.
On the following sunday morning. about elev-
On O'Clock, the prisoners were at church In the
little chapel of the Jail, and three or tour mem
hers Of the Vigilance Committee, as If drawn 10y
cuIiositv, mingled with the congregation OF pr.
soners keepers, &c. Al given signal, the door
OF the lall next the street vas thrown open, and
a detachmen, of nearly fifty members Of the
Vigilance Committee, starting up as II IRON the
Garth, rushed INTO the chapel, anu with pistols
drawn, overcame and piniened the keepers. and
SEEING Whitaker and Mckenzie Just rlslng
from their knees, dragged them from the house
Of God, and hurried them INTO carriage stand
Ing ready al The door At the instant, the ONT
nous bell OF the Committee rang ont the wei
known signal, and almost IN moment the
streets were crowded with people, through
whom the carriage drove at full gallop, with the
two unhappy men, while four OF the most re-
spectacle merchants" sat inside with their re.
yolyers cooked at the heads oi Their victims.
At4ull speed drove the carriage 70 the rooms II
the Committee, where already great multitude
had assembled The horses were pulled up
with such violence as almost TO throw them on
their launches, and the prisoners, white as ash
e.. trembling IN every limb and mute with ter
sor. were taken out the rope put ABOUT their
necks by a score OF hands, run through pslley
IN a block Tor hoisting, out OF the gable oi the
house and the next moment both men were
hanging twenty fee; from the earth IN their NOR
tel agones. A hundred hands pulled the ropes