870 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
the constitution and laws of the state, here I must speak of the 
assumption of unconstitutional and illegal powers by the Cali- 
fornians, in a manner unexampled in other parts of the Union. 
The vigilance committees of San Francisco are famous the world 
over. There were two of these organizations, one in 1851, the 
other in 1856, the latter being a revival of the former. The 
laws for the punishment of crime in California are so loose and 
so favorable to criminals, and the officers of justice have been so 
corrupt, that the people have at several periods felt that the 
only safe method of having justice executed, was to take the 
matter into their own hands. The vigilance committee of 
1851 was in existence but a short time, and did nothing save 
execute a few thieves. That of 1856 was the more important 
organization by far, and a brief statement of its actions may 
be necessary to a proper understanding of the character of the 
people. Under the American system of universal suffrage, the 
control of the government must fall into the hands of a polit- 
ical party, which again must be managed by a few individ- 
uals, and these, especially in large cities, are often base men 
who make a business of politics. It is so in New York city; 
and it was so in San Francisco in 1855 and the early part of 
1856. The party then in power did not hesitate to elect to 
high office men entirely unfit to be seen in decent society— 
men of notoriously bad character, guilty of numerous crimes. 
Many of the officers of elections were scoundrels, who, after 
the polls were closed, threw away the genuine ballots and sub- 
stituted others in their place, and thus declared their own men 
elected to office. Such conduct was not the exception but the 
rule; it was practised in many districts and for year after year, 
and the men guilty of it were patronized and protected by men 
high in office. Among the ballot-box stuffers, one of the bas- 
est and most prominent was James Casey, a man who had 
been convicted in New York of grand larceny, and had been 
punished by a term of imprisonment in the state prison. He 
had a little education, some experience in the management of 
political meetings, much tact, and a ready tongue. In San 
