SOCIETT. 371 



Francisco be became a politician, and obtained tbe position of 

 inspector of elections in one of tbe wards ; and tbere be bad 

 complete control of tbe ballot-box, and used it to keep bimself 

 in office and elect bis friends or tbose wbo paid bim. In tbe 

 fall of 1855 Casey managed to be elected member of tbe board 

 of supervisors (wbicb board bas the same powers in San Fran- 

 cisco as tbe common council bas in most cities), and tbis election 

 was conducted in sucb a manner tbat tbere was no doubt in tbe 

 mind of any reasonable man tbat tbe whole affair was fraudu- 

 lent. This man Casey shot a San Francisco editor wbo had de- 

 nounced bim as a convict, a ballot-box stuffer, and a scoundrel. 

 The shooting took place in tbe street in open day, and the 

 wound was mortal. The editor had made bimself prominent 

 and popular by exposing various abuses, and no sooner was it 

 announced that he was shot, than a great excitement arose, 

 men collected by thousands in tbe street, and acted with a 

 passion little short of raving. The vigilance committee, which 

 had been dissolved for six years, was reorganized. Out of 

 twelve thousand white male citizens nine thousand enrolled 

 themselves as members of tbe committee. They formed them- 

 selves into military companies, obtained arms, chose officers, 

 and established aji armory and a fon. Tbe governor ordered 

 them to disband, and threatened to use tbe military power of 

 the state against them, but they set bim at defiance, invested 

 the Jail, took from it Casey and another man, who bad com- 

 mitted homicide, imprisoned them in their fort, and subse- 

 quently hanged them, after trying them secretly. Tbe com- 

 mittee arrested a large number of persons on charges of vari- 

 ous crimes, executed two others for murder, banished about 

 a dozen, and maintained their fort and their military organiza- 

 tion for eight months, during which time they were really 

 masters of the city. They inflicted no punishment with- 

 out trial, held all their trials with much deliberation, and 

 were in no haste to execute their sentences. The governor 

 tried to call out tbe militia of tbe state, but the people gener- 

 ally sympathized with tbe movement, so neither the militia nor 



