Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1856-09-05

Tine 6 Vigilance Committee" of San Francisco.
we publish in another column letter from gen
t!eman IN San Francisco, who from his position and
character, we have reason to believe, speaks from
'ne honest conviction of his mind He not long
since removed to San Francisco from this vicinity
ana writes under the deliberate observation of dis
interested resident of the place Frankly confdng
70 US his name though writing such letter at con-
siderable personal rsk should he be detected we are
enabled to publish his communication as a reliable
exposition of the feeling and sentiment of intelligent
members OF society in San Francisco even under the
hdeous mlsrule of the subverted laws There can
be no question with any rational man here that the
representations OF our correspondent 10 the actual
revolutionary character of the Vigilance Committee
are fully warranted by the facts The constitution
OF the United States, less than of the State of CAL
norma, Is manltestly treated an absolute nullity
and that OF necessity-a necessity, however, which
the members of the committee have created bv their
organization and acts, and which now holds them
the very slaves of its stern and uncompromisng
force. Already the rerbutve influence of violated
Jaws is upon them, and the members of the Vigilance
committee are verglng upon that reaction which will
make them the victims of their own lawless proceed
ings Selt-defence will compel them to sustain their
unlawful organization long possible; and it is
quite probable that the end may be sef.banishment
we venture the suggestion that every member of
I tie committee has repeatedly asked himself and all
have considered together the best method of LAYING
down their power and retreating from the RESPONSE
|
there is not man among them who can propose an
! acceptable method of doing So And why Be-
cause they have not accomplished what they pro-
posed. he pretence was that San Francisco needed
such O movement as this to purify its social cond.
tion-to purge out disordery material And what
has been done Some four or five wretches have
been hung, and a dozen or two of suspected men
banlshed. These latter may come back al any time
after the Vigilance Committee is dsbanded and the
result will then be four or five men unlawfully de-
prlved OF life. And unless these four or five men
were the whole and sole cause of all the social evil
IN San Francisco, nothing remedial has been done
On the other hand the most pernicous consequences
have been entailed upon society The moral effect
OF constitutional law, of popular sovereignty, of the
first, best and most sacred institutions of our c0un-
try, is fearfully impaired. Trial by Jury habeas
corpus, open courts, have all been assaied dishon-
ored, and superseded by lawess organization, Sc
cret tribunals, false imprisonment, and murders by
mob under the of executions. Thus let the
end of this Vigilance Committee come when and how
it may, the testimony of society against it will be that
1t has done mischief and only mischief.
And II is good that it is IL is impossible to cal
cuate the evil that mi ht ensue should it seem 10
other communities that temporary partial good
had resulted from such plausible lawessness We
see already thoughtess writers in journals at home
frequently limiting at the necessity of Vigilance
Committee 10 correct this that social or political
evil of the day. We have awlessness, violence and
rowdyism enough, it must be confessed but it be-
hooves still to deprecate, as a greater evil than
any that we have known, the organization of a
power independent of and superior TO the laws and
constituted authorities for their administration
Baltimore Sun.