His honor wished me to explain to the Court what I knew relative to such cases in the Atlantic States. I briefly stated to the jury, that the law required all vessels to be provided with a medicine chest, with an ample supply of medicines for the voyage, but there was no law that obliged the owners to furnish a physician — and in the present case I ventured to give my opinion, that a passenger, who was a doctor, had no more claim against an owner for medical advice or attention, towards a fellow passenger, than a shoemaker would have for mending a passenger's shoes. The Court now adjourned for a few minutes to liquor up, and the judge, to get a sufficient head of steam on before he charged the jury on this momentous case.
The sum claimed, was one hundred and seventy-five dollars, and from the movements, I was inclined to think that they were determined to have it, which with the costs, would probably amount to three hundred dollars: and that it would be equally divided between the plaintiff, lawyer, and judge. The jury were a set of rag-a-muffins collected from the street by a constable. The case was decided against the defendant, and all he had to do was to fork over the money, which, including the keepers and expenses, was five hundred and seventy-tive dollars. This was California justice. Murders and robberies were now so common, as to be perpetrated at noonday. The constituted city authorities were wdiolly inefficient. There was no secure place in which to confine prisoners, a small bribe would break shackles and bolts, and set the rogues at liberty again, who, emboldened by their success in evading justice, were ten times worse than before.
But thanks to that band of heroes, the vigilance committee; it was to them that the citizens owed their lives, and the preservation of their property from robbery and fire. I witnessed five destructive conflagrations, which were without doubt, in every case, the work of incendiaries. Yet through the faithful watchings of the vigilance committee, they were checked. The first decisive act of the committee, was the execution of Jenkins, a notorious burglar, and an escaped, Sydney convict. He entered a store in open daylight, knocked the owner down, and carried off a small ironsai'o. He was apprehended, tried, convicted, and hung upon the flag-staff, on the Plaza, and all within forty-eight hoursfroni the5 theft. This summary act of j ustice seemed to strike a terror among the evil doers, and for a short time, things went on well, expect, that a parcel of niilk-and-molaj fellows began to make loud complaints against the vigilance committee, "for taking the law into their own hands:' And I am sure from my own observation, that had not these noble fellows arisen and organized, in defence of life and property, San Francisco would have swarmed with robbers, murderers and incendiaries.
As for efficient laws to punish crime, there was none, neither was there energy enough in the municipal government, to detect a murderer, or to socure him, if apprehended.