Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-01-30


SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. Is, 1871.
Every one remembers how IN school,
boy days the entry Of the teacher into
the school-room wouldinstantly change
the scene from riotous uproar to a
serene calm of hard study. This trite
illustration is suggested by the peace
and quietness that have fallen upon
our local press since the Grand Jury
commenced its sittings. For the nonee
there is no more Safeguarding, no
more personalities, no more inferential
paragraphs suggesting that people
whom everybody supposed to have a
full average Of virtues were n shade
worse than the combined criminality
of San Quentin. News-Letter appear
eth without Its sting, Chronicle without
its calumny. The resources of the
State, that but a while ago were coll
sidered only matter fit for the atten-
ton of the Auaic dame, are discussed
with n well.assumed interest. The
State University, tide land reclama-
ton, the Second-street cut, and similar
topics of equal sensationalism, furnish
subjects for editorials, aud light SLAM
der Is superseded by heavy platitudes,
racy malice by dull proprlety. "Where-
fore this changer" asks the distant
reader. "Why hath my Ne,cs-LGtar
suddenly become so staidly decorous,
my Chronicle 10 mildly respectable,
my Mazep-my Christian Adrocate SO
feebly indecent?" Know, then, that n
column of complainants have appeared
before the Grand Jury and cried aloud
to that body for redress for many slam
ders. "Banquo's" ghost has multi
piled ITSELF and murdered characters
have risen from the dead past in stern
array, clamoring with most palpable
material tongues for legal vengeance.
So It Is that the shadow of coming libel
suits has sent a twinge of apprehension
through our flvorite journals, and
frightened them into n placid proprlety
that Is undisturbed by the ripple of the
smallest personality. What action the
Grand Jury will take in the matter has
not yet been made public, though town
talk-knowing, Of course, nothing
about what it speaketll-says that the
indictments will be confined to Or
Mazeppa, and that the other editorial
culprits will be let of with n moral
lecture.
Genteel ThoN.
There Is a flavor of embezzlemcnt in
our commercial atmosphere. An aroma
of genteel thievery pervades our busi-
ness circles. Twice or thrice n week
some fashionable light that has been
Illuminating local society with a glare
of brightness, is blown out by the cold
wind of exposure, leaving behind an
unpleasant. odor Of financial delin.
quencies. Captain Stewart, anti-grog,
Observation-Disclosures; Hemenway,
wholesale dealer In groceries and
moralities Coleman, s~peculator In oil
aud Hidden Treasure ; Murphy, Bank
President and cash kleptomanlaist ;
Daniel Alice, confidential clerk and
fast young man 5 Blank Blank lname
unknownl, collector and chief sales
NAN In j.. Hodge 81 Co.'S stationery
store-have all been snuffed out, NOR
ally speaking, within five weeks. This
Is a goodly list for a little over twenty
seven days, and quite sufficient to faint
the air Of q larger mercantile commu-
nity than that Of San Francisco. The
worst feature IN connection with these
cases Is that embeZzlemcnt, like muir
der, Is 10 longer considered a crime.
The vulgar robber who steals dollars
IN units Is sent over to San Quentin,
while the gentlemanly embezzler who
steals. dollars In thousands, either
through direct p%eculation or fraudulent
bankruptcy, incurs no punishment.
Indeed, we are so careful Of the tender
susceptibilities of tile latter that We
even gloss oyerthe name of his otfense,
and say that Stewart "played 1t smart
on his creditors" that Coleman ''dtdn't
do the square thing with Hayward"
and that Alice "is q little behindhand
I'm his accounts" What would be
grand larceny In Paciic-street saloon
becomes merely n discreditable trans
action behind the desk Of n Front
street merchant; and what would be a
confidence operation in Barbary Coast
Bill Is only n legitimate speculation in
Buggee Billiards, Esq.
A Few Iuquests and their Develop
mcnts.
Some inquests have been held within
the last few days which have been pro-
life of curious developments. The
first was an old man who cut his throat
at the County Hospital while laboring
under delirium tremens. DR.. Bolnn,
the medical officer in charge of the in
stitution, was at his toilet when word
was brought him that the patient was
bleeding to death. "Bandage his
throat" said the model charity doctor,
81 can't come yet, I'm dressing" So,
while the mans life-blood was pouring
out in a great rcd stream, he continued
to dress with a care that admitted Of
no hurry. Should he forego his accus-
toned matutinal bath because a pauper
had gashed his jugular? Should he
leave his room with unbrushcd teeth
and unkempt hair because a mailman
had thought fit to end his troubled ex-
istence with cold steel? Who ever
heard of such an absurd attention to
duty? Certainly not DIR. Bolan, and
he didn't intend to make a precedent,
80 he finished his toilet with due de-
liberation, and three-qunrters of an
hour afterwards walked into the old
mans ward and found him - dead.
The next curious development was In
the Ease of n woman called Maggie
Ryan. who died in q wretched tene-
ment house on Vallejo street. 1t was
L 11.to- h. kkt. ,,,lkt..