New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-08-02
THE OUTRAGE AT SAN JUAN.

the easf relieves the enormty OF the TRANSACTION nor
ANYTHING that removes the responsibility of il from the
Administration 1t is plain, from the orders of the
Secretary of the Navy TO Commander Hons that
the extremity Of destroying the place, and OF
killing some of it's people contemplated by those
sending the Cyane on her mission. at is however,"
says the Secretary very much TO be hoped that you
effect the purposes of your visit without resort
"tO violence and destruction Of property and loss Of
"If." This is enough to make it certain that Mr..
Hollins acted within bis orders in burning the town.
as he would have done had be deemed il equally ne
cessary, in repairing the damage done TO Nj Borlant
and the Transit Company, TO FIRE few shells into the
retreats where the families of the citizens had taken
refuge from his vandalism. So, too, Mr.. Marcy, In his
letter of June to the Commercial Agent ct San
Juan plainly indicates that il will be the duty OF his
subordinate 10 have the place destroyed or otherwise
severely chastsed in case the Transit Company is not
satisfied and an otads is not made for the ind gritty
offered to Mr.. BOrand "Nothing" be says, short
'of an apology will save the place from the inaictiOn
that its act Justly merits" Here, then, We have con-
elusive proof that the Administration is alone to be
held accountable for the whole affair that 1t was
Messrs Pierce and Marcy who seem to have 80 en-
trely adopted the Of the Transit Company and
to have implicitly received true any calumny it may
have propagated against the people OF the town-tha
is they who have really bOmbarded and destroyed the
homes and the property of FIVE hundred innocent and
defenseess people, and not HOns and Fabens. their
weak and bedent ubOrdinates The whole transaction
was the act Of the American Executive AID for 1t that
Executive must account The odum and the respon-
sibility cannot be shifted upon the shoulders OF any
,ubaltern personages
The first reason given by the two Secretaries for
tie punishment inflicted on San Juan is that property
had been stolen from the Transit Company, or per-
SONS interested in it. and taken to the town. and that
the persons guilty of this felony had also received
protection there This we have good reason for de-
cariDg to he totally false charge. We have the
testimony of several highly respectable witnesses resi-
dent at San Juan, 10 whom we have directed inqu-
res on this point, who unanimously that such an
event never happened there and that no property
stolen from the Company was ever concealed there,
nor any thieves OF any sort protected The only
case approaching the allegation of the Secretaries is
one ola black employed with Lis wife as servant
who ran away from the Compsnys premises at
Prnta Arenas with boat. He was fired at by
clerk as he was going Off, but not killed. and several
men came over from Punta Arenas to lnfct on him
private punishment, but were prevented by the au-
thoritits who locked him up in the StatiOn-H House
and had the case examined next morning and regu
ally disposed of acc )rding 10 the evidence. As for
merchandise stolen BY him, had there been any, the
authorities would have compelled its surrender; but
on examination none could be discovered either the
boat or elsewhere, the man and woman together hav
ing nothing but few articles of clothing of small
value which could not be identified by any other
claimant as stolen nor could the man right to them
be in any way disproved and accordingly they were
left in his possession. This or something OF equal
importance affords the only basis for this claim of
$1,000 for stolen merchandise about which the Sec
retaries and their subOrdnates have much to say.
As for what they allege concerning other injuries
Americans past or future that We sure is all
calumny invented TO help the ruin which
prominent men in the Transit Company seem to have
sworn to bring upon the town. There have been
such injuries that We recall, except it in the
case of three notorious villains, who two years or
thereabouts ago were sentenced to death for their
crimes by the courts of the place. On that occasion
large number of returning Californians, fearing the
condemned men might be allowed TO escape, were
about TO attack the building where they
were imprisoned, in order to bring them
out and hang them by Lynch law. The towns
people preparing for defense, and serious fight
was in prospect, when Capt. PendergraS of the Sar
anac interiered and sppeased the Caornians,
ing them that he knew the authorities of the town,
and that they might be relied on to do justice. Ac
cordingy the mob dispersed and one of the convict
ed American citizens duly hung, and the other
two only branded and banished, in consideration of
their having turned States evidence. Beyond this,
there have been no troubles, except those growing
out of the quarrel with the Transit Company, in
which it is at least only safe to believe that all the
wrong cannot have been side. Such, how
ever is not the view taken by Messrs. Pierce and
Marcy.
The famous eiectment case is also brought up here
again. and figures for full third of the SEA 900 in
demnity demanded for the Company. Our readers
remember this affair when it occurred it was fully
explained in our columns. The Company occupy
Punta Arenas under lease from the King of Mos.
quito from which authority, as sanctioned by Eng
land the town derived its charter and dates its corpo-
rate existence Thus the tenure of the Company and
that of the town are the same but in the lease of the
former il is provided that they shall vacate the Point
whenever tine authorities of the town shall require
The latter having occasion the locality for quar-
antine ground, for other purposes of which they
were the sole judges required the Company to fulfil the
condition of the lease. This refused and there
upon the authorities proceeded by regular process of
eiectment to iniorce their right. In doing they had
removed two buildings built of boards, with matched
roofs, and one OF them having brick oven
connected with it, when the Cyane appeared,
being sent down by Mr.. Fillmore and prevented fur