New-York daily tribune., 1858-10-04
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
THE SENTENCE OF BILL MULLIGAN.
VIEWS OF CALIFORNIAN.

To y. Editor 4 nie > y T.
SIR: l. matter directly concerning every res
idept visitor frou. the city OF san Francisco, beg
leav,. 70 encTo1ch upon your columns to say few
We ,ds 70, arin. the remarkable lenency exhibited
-, SATURDAY by Judge Russell toward the noto ous
outlaw. Bi ly Mulgan, ior hs sasaat GA Capt. Hiram
Webb. | may premise by stating that | am unac-
,nair,ed with Mr. Webb, never saw him to know
MIN. and was not member OF tie san Francisco Ns
lance Committee. The extraordinary favor ami cem'
epcy shown Muigan ou former OCCASIONS ny the same
Judye and the facilities awarded MN ny Tue 'ouit
in postponing the case. - a. 10 l1sWe i1
W.fI ahs.Ice and the Sudden ext nom OouIt sYhe
lew weeks ago " cu / was iogni thai hec"r'ei paI-
nard and net JUDGE Russell was then 20 try the case
a. VEL as the apparent social intimacy between the
accused and the Bench-the political aspirations oi
the Judge and the sudden return % the Court anu
wi,h1ravsl ot the plea Of bot guilty ami snos'''I'
ton of guilty all these little circumstances 20 10
prove that there en- influence al WORK Ornl1u W. ~
throne 10 thwart Justice ard sacrifice princpe '"F
usrsopal friendship Il uOt fr Mullgan tor some oi
h, close friends To NE these things appear TX u
renewal # the causes which Jed to the Vigilance Com
mit.ee and just such coudlc, a. that exaibted oy
Judge Russell. compelled seven thousand citizens 10
leave their occs. stores, shops and factories to r
tie City If San Francisco Of the estenai presence oi
a band Il shoulie:-htters AMI bailot-pox sthn.rs,
srch a. never before infested American city III u
h, to be here a. the.e that rufiians can assault
citizens with the certainty Of escaping with ight
sentence. and receiving elt-hauded Endorsement
from the Judges II il well that who merely SoJourn
among you should know II. Il - uniort nnate tor
Jude, Russell that he had not studied the history OF
tie Vigilance Committee little Closer, If tor no other
purpose than to have given the truth IN the remarks
ar,d,uuanvip, the sentence of the Court. suppose
il Will be claimed that Mulligans atidavits were IN
coutradiced bat il Is hardly To be believed tnat sucn
character could have adhered very close 10 the truth
Judge Russell said among other things:
fd from ,h. of the aiisyits IN mitigation
10
Of or Office had Of the Jail IL the CITY o. >an FrAnc'
~ ,y. .,r-g,rdad by An uusl,horxd and Illegal body
of pn who entrance IN order 70 take
o yor custody pr iutFused 20 your are aud
b Won .r g. uud 20 protect that couseqaynce OF your
49,. "a So. 70 .s,ain the ay Won incurred their
ps.ue that the ompanan wa, one q ihe ader' no ~
iuprs and baish-d from the state, without mo-
meuts waning thu. leaving your family in destitute eondi.
iion aud Unprotected IN lily where "a" ana oe were SCI ~
defiance and not and violence resned supreme
Every citizen Of San Francisco will vouch for the fac
that Mnligan not banshed for his resistance nj
the time ~ the taking Of certain prisoners from the
ia because in the first place, there was no resist
auce offered Of any nature; secondly, MulIgan was
ouly subordinate, and his superior was present IN
person az the time Of the affair mentioned; and
Thirdly because 10 attempt was made To force an
entrance. II was, however for long series of out
RACES public and private and for course of conduct
earning him the title of an unprnclped rowdy
the associate of the vilest wretches IN the city,
and undue interference IN elections, that Mul-
hgan banished. Again, the pretended SEM
tence Of Nulligan without a moments warning
Is the nerest tJl-de-rOl, because Mugau well knew
that lie would be taken the moment the Committee
commenced operations, and had time given after
the sentence Of banishment to settle up his business
affairs. The allusion 10 unprotected family il also
palpable humbug because Muligan has no family.
Judge Russell also bellies history in referring san
Francisco city " where riot aud violence reigned
supreme, for, excepting the arrests of outlaws, not
single act of not and certainly not of violence can be-
shown. THUS, the pretended mitigation of the attack
of Muligan Webb consists OF tt tissue Of msrcpre-
sentati0ns from the start.
These matters, however are of slight importance
compared with the possible results which may how
from this unrighteOus sentence Ii every person VINO
participated in the of the San Francisco Vigilance
Committee. who may chance To- visit New-YOrk, il to
be assaulted by Mulligan, why then Calitouians will
understand that they must 20 through Broadway
armed against such assaults and Billy Mullgan Co.
will some day occasion small amount of bloodslied.
This affair has been freely talked of among people
from State and the general disposition is shoot
down such fellows without computation OF conscience.
II fine of so Is 70 pay tor the injuries sustained by
citizens, then indeed, is life and limb insecure. Ii
Judge Russell j. To prefer Billy Mullgsn's support 10
tha, of honest citizens let him have Il; but whenever
a gentleman from San Francisco finds 1t necessary 10
his weapons defense Of his person, LET the blame
fall where il belongs. CALIFORNIA.
Nec- York Sept T.