The San Francisco call., 1910-08-28
A PATIENT COURT

tim of the crime human being. Overruling
this plea, Judge Vann said:
The objection is purely technical, and technical
objections no longer regarded as serious unless
they thoroughly supported by authority
the latitude of the statute relating to the subject
The criminal law is fast outgrowing those tech
n1calues which when the punishment
for crime in many cases to shock
the moral of lawyers, judges and public
generally.
This is very we'll far it goes, but the Strange
thing is that the court tolerant of the insult
to its intelligence offered by counsel. If a lawyer
made plea like that to an English court he would
get such wigging from the bench that he would
never repeat the offense The trouble here is that
the lawyers at the bar usually bigger men intel
lectually than the judges the bench. No plea is
SO rotten corrupt but it shall receive respectful
consideration from the court.
WHERE ARE THE DONS OF YESTERYEAR?
Hon. John Daggett of Siskiyou sends me some
interesting historical particulars of the almost
Nextnct Spanish element which in early days cut so
important figure in the political life of the state
and the matter is we'll worth preservation for many
reasons. Mr.. Daggett writes:
Noting time since the death of Manuel
Torres in Alameda, it excited some wonder in my
mind how there left of the Cali
fornia assemblymen of 1889, at which session he
was member from Marin county, while was
representing Klamath and Del Norte, in my
At that period in California history the Spanish
element quite factor in politics, and ably
represented in both houses. Mariana Malarn
of Monterey and Don Andres Pico from Los
Angeles were fellow members the latter having
been member OF the second, third and ninth
sessions, and later was state senator during
term
Malarn also fellow member of the eleventh
session with myself and Don Jose M. Covarrubias,
who represented Santa Barbara. He was the
father of FL Senor Don Gaspar de Portola of
late fiesta fame, we'll as having served in nine
other sessions of the assembly. He of French
and Spanish extraction and at time large
land holder, who had suffered greatly from the
consequence pet adherence.
1t told that at session of the 1egis-
lature at which he was serving there mpend-
ing bill of sufficient importance to excite great
interest both for and against it. and the adherents
and opponents equally divided that one
vote to decide its fate. Covarrubas had been
counted upon as being in favor of the measure,
until Just before 1t came up its final passage
convinced him that contained
and conditions favorable to squaters,
and upon the calling of his by the clerk he
and excitedly exclaimed: Mr. Speakarre, [
vote no. | nevarre vote for one dom squat bill.
OF course there was great excitement IN the lobby
in consequence, but it made no difference, for the
friends of the bill could not get within mile of
-Senor Covarrubias-iguratively speaking-and
the rollca completed and the bill defeated
Moreover, the rules controlling at that time per-
mitted reconsideration upon the day. and
vote upon that question following Immediately
put final quetus upon the measure, which caused
smile to adorn Senor Covarrubas' usually
countenance long after.
l think the death of Manuel Torres marks the
passing of the last of the "Dons inhabiting Cali
fornia when the Gringo came and unless Mr..
Robert Howe, who represented Tuolumne county
i'll the tenth and eleventh sessions, is still living
the only persons connected Herewith still on
earth that | know of besides myself Homer
King, late president of the Bank of Cali
fornia, and Mr.. Henry Schwartz, the we'll known
...~>>>-> ~~~>>-