Sunday dispatch. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1845-1854, 1852-04-04
The Canf0rnla SWindIers.

Justice in the hands Of honest men, is blessing
for which we should rejoice but when entrusted
to weak or unworthy hands, it becomes, not in
itself, but through its servant, tyranny and
curse. Men are daily swindled, yet the swind-
lers escape with impunity the castigations OF the
law. The victim is laughed at by the victimizsr,
and your Justice, with "fat capon lined,'
chuckles at the admirable manner with which he
presides over the legal disputations and teehni-
cal quibbIes of pettifoggers feed to see thai their
clients go "unwhipt of justice" Men are
swinded daily in this city, and no redress can be
obtained for the iniuriOns acts which 'He verIesf
convict at sing Sing would shame to countenance'
This should not longer be tolerated. The com
munity ought, in selfdefence, demand from their
judicial servants an account of their stewardship.
The people should not always wink at tergiversa-
tions in the administration of the laws. Why
have code, why appoint magistrates, if cunning
men may overcome the barriers which society
resrs to defend itself from the assaults of rogues
and pIunderers7 Too long has this matter been
permitted. The stranger in our city isnot secure
from the deep laid vilanies Of those harpes whose
only aim is to despoil the honest.
The case of a pseudo firm, under the names of
Palmer s. Haight, is in point These men open
an office, and advertise that they are prepared to
forward passengers to California, on the payment
of certain sums. Relying on their good faith,
travellers approach and pay them for passage
tickets which upon their face guarantee all the
privileges of travellers These applicants are
poor, and have probably paid away nearly all
their means Palmer & Haight, aware of this,
ship them to the lsthmus of Panama, where they
are lest to starve, and probably die, without re-
dress Forgery is added to the list of crimes of
this fleeing firm, andwhen some of their victims,
more fortunate than others, return for the ex-
press purpose of punishing them for their vii
lanies, they are laughed at. They complain to a
magistrate, whose sworn duty it is to punish
fraud and redress injury. The wrOng-doers
are arrested, and after preliminary examIna-
| tinn-in which tha-rnnst conclusive -AvidAn~A
/ -vruuguv Ivrwuru Uue CnBrges pre-
ferred these culprits are permitted graciously to
leave the Court upon their olVn recognisances.
The rougues thank the benevolent magistrate for
his excessive courtesy, quietly stick their tongues
in their cheeks, and leave the city and their
wretched victims to seek such relief as their
genius may discover. Here are crimes so daring,
frauds so palpsble, that no man, conscious that
two and two are four, could but acknowledge,
and yet we have magistrates who can, without a
qualm Of conscience, permit this gross violation
of justice to be perpstrated under their very no
SOS. Your fellow who swindles the community
out of million, is daring fuancier and bold
gentleman, and it is but just that the vengeance
of an outraged community should sweep by him
harmlessy but the poor devil who steals a six
pence, to save himself from starvation, is sure to
be visited with all the heavy penalties which this
same community can inhict-upon the principle,
we presume, Of 'sequal and exact justice to all''
Last week, another case was brought before
the same magisterisl tribunal, in which a man
named Pride aud another named Barney were
charged with similar offence. The Justices, as
if to make amends for allowing Palmer & Haigbt
to slip through the oily fogers of justice, held
these follows to bail in the sum of go 900 each,
and in default thereof. looked them up. Truly
UK1rS ssvu' " '-----J -
men amosg us are our Police MsgisIrates.