Butte record., 1856-06-28

COMMISSION OF PERJURY. II Is u iact
worthy of notice, that during this whole
excitement, Iicentious as the press i,
the District Judges in San Francisco
he highest Judicial officers in the city,
both as to evil and criminal jurisdiction
have not even be ass.lled. Th ii
purity is not questil ned. To escape
from the consequences of trial before
these officers, members of the Vigilance
Committee, through their mouth piece
5 the press-have constantly clamored
for der resignation. They have de-
mand also the resignaii n of the May
or, the Sheriff, and all other city and
county officers, on the avow,d grou"d
that the Vigilance Committee Gould no
disband wi safety until these fhcers
] t were filed nth ere. lures of their own.
Failing in this object, they see no safety
hut in revolution. Knowing that the
Executive dispatched by the last steamer
: requ;s,tion on the President of the
/ United States for the necessary means
TO rul down this insurrection, aud per-
f city aware that the Presld, Mt u'.der
the Constitution and the acts of Con-
gress has no discretion, but is bound 10
furnish not only arms, but to employ all
: the land and naval fo.ces of the United
States for that purpose, they perceive
hat their punishment is inevitable: that
1t Is mrre question o tue, unless they
cin throw IF the authority of the Unior
{ and tar Califoini from the c,nstel a.
/ hot u
laws OF this State there is no limi atior
of the time within which they may be
prosecuted for murder; that SO long as
Califo MIA is in the Union and they ex-
list and remain wi hin it. limits, they are
liable to prosecution and the ignomini-
Gus penal of the gallows. They have
no IA ETY. therefore. but in drawing al
their fellow citizens after them INFO anar-
chy and disunlon. They seek to pull all
down to common infamy Of crime.
1t is doubtless true that up o til
time of the refusal of Gen. Wool to
grant arms to the State, had he complied
with the r,qui>iiion, they would have
d. barded within four days, and order
would have been restored without the
firing Of gun. But the Knowledge that
the State was comparatively d stitute Of
arns, i, the key to all their recent high
handed mea,ures, outrages and crimes.
They u~e their MON ntary p"w'r to
glo.t over, insult anI tample upou the
pcop'e of the S ate.
1t is difficult to understand what adc
qIate natives th re can be ALLEGED Tor
! all this violence, commotlon and crime.
The two most prominent reasons given
by the Vigilance Committee are the nm
certainty If the punishment Of crime by
the il lei Il tribun Is, aud the pc petra
: tiun Of election frauds by the o!lic rs Of
, elections.
If crime is not punished in San Fran
cisco, it is not for the want of able aud
upright Judges 1t is owing to the cor
: ruption Of the 'rirs. Ii W III be admit
f ted that the jury system in Sln Fran
cisco has not always been remarkable
= for purity. But whose fault is this
That Of the very merchants and shop
keepers who now mainly constitute the
. Vigilance Committee. They decline or
shIrk the duty of srving on jur'eS Oh
any frivolous pretext. 1t is W. Il known
that Il distinguish d Judge in that city
not long since adj,ur.ed his cour; for
the day, alleging that he was sickenrd
with hearing business men commit per-
, jury IN swearing to excuses to cv de
serving on juri $. This is an evil whici.
the members of the Vigilan Commit
t. might ca lily have corrected by tie
: simple discharge of their duty as citizens,
and the reform would have produced a
pure and fficient administration Of JUS
tee The evil is not likely to be m dc
less by supersediug as judges, such men
as Judges Morton, Hager, and Snat-
tuck, by the creatures of the Nigilancc
COMMITTEES. Ii business men vQgli di>
charge their legal Obligations as good cit
izens there could be no necessity for
Lynch law and revolution. But the
greatest monstrosity Of all is that some
of the very men who, as jurors, refused
to concur in IA verdict 'r The convic ion
Of Charles Cora, subsequently as mem
bers Of the Vigil nee voted t. hang him.
As to election frauds, bribery and bal
t lot box st1f1ing, there is no doubt that it
ha' been monStrouS evil in San Fran
cisco These crimes have been resnrted
to to a f.ightful extent by all political
patti s; but the punishment has fallen
rxcusvel, upon the offenders in one.-
S"me OF the most notorious perpetrators
of election frauds are prominent MEN,
bers OF, and sy'npath RS with, the Vi
g lance Committee. They are honored
md protect d members of that treasonl-
bl associat on. Since they have created
Il new punishment. unknown to the law
? til It Of banishmeni-why do they mol
mete out justice to the offenders of all
parties Again, the L. glsaturc at lis
st session, had passed an efficient rem
ely as to San Francisco, by ming sew
eraI gentlemen of character, selected
from al parties. to appoint the Judges
and Insp ctors of elections Is mere
reven c IN Furnishing past auds on the
ballot-box a sufficient m"tivc for all Ibis |
rebellion and civil comn"lion; The |
crimes which the Vigilance Committee