HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, San Francisco, June 23, 1848. GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your memorial of the 22d instant, asking that Lieutenant Gilbert may be appointed first alcalde " of this district, in the absence of Mr. John Townsend, the present or late incumbent." If Mr. Townsend's absence is to be of long continuance, it is certainly necessary, under the peculiar circumstances at present existing, that an appointment of a first alcalde should be made, and I would with great pleasure make the appointment you ask were Lieutenant Gilbert not employed upon other public duties which could not be properly discharged at the same time with those of an alcalde; the duties of one would essentially interfere with the duties of the other. Should the length of Doctor Townsend's absence continue so as to inconvenience the interests of the town or district, I will, with pleasure, appoint any civilian that the citizens may wish. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, W. D. M. HOWARD, S. BRANNIN, R. B. MASON, Colonel 1st Dragoons, Governor of California. H. RICHARDSON, and others, San Francisco. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 18, 1848. SIR: Your letter of June 16th has been received, and I am directed by the governor to say, in reply to your question, that the duties are to be levied ad valorem on the invoices, and not on the gross amount of sales, as formerly. This question might have been readily settled by referring to Colonel Mason's letter to Captain Folsom, April 28, (a copy of which was sent to the commanding officer at Santa Barbara,) and to the printed pamphlet forwarded to Captain Lippett on the 2d of June; and I am directed to say that those instructions are deemed sufficiently full and explicit. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. Lieut. HENRY S. CARNES, Collector, &c., Santa Barbara, California. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 19, 1848. SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of June 26th, enclosing your monthly statements of revenue collected for April and May; · also, your letter of June 25, with your account current and abstract of expenditures for the quarter ending March 31st, and your monthly statement of revenue collected for March; also, your letter of June 11, in an swer to which I am directed by the governor to say, that as the exemption from duties by the tariff is limited to soldiers and military officers by the express orders of the President of the United States, he cannot assume the responsibility of changing such limitation. It would afford him great pleasure to give Señor Bandini every assistance in his mining operations; but under existing circumstances he cannot feel himself justified in suspending the regulations made by the President respecting the landing and sale of gunpowder: not that he has any want of confidence in the intentions of Señor Bandini, but at the present time it is necessary to take every precaution to guard against accidents. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. Capt. Wм. E. SHANNON, Commanding, &c., San Diego, California. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 19, 1848. SIR: I am directed by the governor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of June 29th, relative to the affairs of the alcalde of Santa Barbara, and to inform you that orders have been sent to that officer in accordance with your recommendation. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, und Secretary of State. Col. J. D. STEVENSON, Commanding, &c., Los Angeles, California. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 19, 1848. SIR: It is stated by Colonel Stevenson that the town of Santa Barbara owes the acting assistant commissary of subsistence the sum of $97 66 for the support of the civil prisoners confined by the alcalde of that place. This money must be paid to the United States out of the municipal funds of the town. The other towns of California have raised, by means of fines, the labor of prisoners, the license for grog-shops, billiard tables, &c., funds sufficient to cover their municipal expenses; and when any deficiency arises, it is paid by a town tax. The alcalde of Santa Barbara must resort to similar means to raise money to defray the necessary expenses of his of fice. He should endeavor to employ his prisoners in such a way as to earn their own subsistence, and to pay the guard required to secure them. The United States officers cannot be called upon to defray such municipal expenses. The civil authorities must, under all ordinary circumstances, not only take care of their own prisoners, but also attend to the <execution of all civil processes. The interference of the military is to be called for only when forcible resistance is made to the execution of the law, and never for such purposes as the serving of civil processes and the collection of debts. It must be remembered that the military are not the agents of the municipal officers of California, and cannot properly be called upon to act in that capacity, although they will always be ready to lend all necessary aid and assistance to the civil officers in the execution of their duties. For the present, a prison should be rented by you; and as soon as the labor of your prisoners can be made available for that purpose, or a sufficient municipal fund can be raised, you should construct or purchase a suitable building for a jail, which should be the property of the town. If you think of any new sources of municipal revenue, you will please to report them to the proper authorities for their approval. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. PEDRO C. CARRILLO, Alcalde, &c., Santa Barbara, California. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, Monterey, California, July 19, 1848. SIR: On the 8th of May I addressed a letter to Lieutenant Carnes, returning to him an informal voucher for the payment of $300, made to Pedro C. Carrillo on account of services as collector at Santa Barbara. On the 8th of the following month I again addressed Lieutenant Carnes, reminding him that he had not returned to me the corrected voucher of the payment made to Carillo, and required him to be more prompt in his correspondence, transmission of vouchers, &c. To neither of these letters have I received any reply. You will place this letter in the hands of Lieutenant Carnes, who is hereby ordered to hand to you, for transmission to me, by the first mail from the south, the corrected voucher called for, together with his reasons, in writing, why the letters of the 8th of May and the 8th of June have not been attended to. Should Lieutenant C. fail to do this in time for the first mail from the south, you will release him from duty, and place him in arrest. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, Capt. F. J. LIPPETT, R. B. MASON, Colonel 1st Dragoons, commanding. Commanding, Santa Barbara, California. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, The proceedings of the special court convened at Santa Barbara, California, by virtue of an order of the 5th of April last, for the trial of Benjamin Foxon, have been approved by the governor. Benjamin Foxon having been found guilty by a jury of twelve impartial men of the crime of manslaughter, or "homicide simple," was sentenced by said court to four years' imprisonment. This sentence will be carried into execution by the commanding officer of Santa Barbara. Copies sent to Captain Lippett and Pedro C. Carrillo. H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 20, 1848. SIR: Your letters of the 16th and 30th of June have been received. In the case of the Indian Juan José the governor has remitted a part of the fine imposed; and the alcalde has been directed to make preparations, as soon as possible, for having his prisoners guarded by civil officers, except when otherwise specially directed, and to ask for military assistance only in cases where the civil officers are unable to execute the laws. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. Captain F. J. LIPPETT, Commanding, &c., Santa Barbara, California. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 20, 1848. The proceedings of the special court convened at Los Angeles, California, by virtue of an order of the 18th of April last, for the trial of Ruel Barnes, C. C. Canfield, Samuel Myers, and others, have been approved by the governor. Ruel Barnes having been found guilty by a jury of twelve impartial men of the crime of knowingly passing counterfeit coin, was sentenced by the said court to five years' hard labor in such place of detention as the governor might direct; at the same time, from the palliating circumstances which appeared upon the trial, as well as the youth of the prisoner, the court recommended him to mercy. In consequence of this recommendation of the court, the governor is pleased to mitigate the sentence to one year's confinement to hard labor, to date from the 23d of May, 1848. The sentence will be carried into execution under the direction of the commanding officer at Los Angeles. By the governor: H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. Copy sent to Col. STEVENSON and STEPHEN C. FOSTER. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 20, 1848. SIR: The petition of the Indian Juan José, your own statement to Captain Lippett, and the testimony of various persons in Santa Barbara, have all been examined by the governor; and I am directed by him to call your attention to some irregularities of proceeding in the case of this Indian. Although his statements were in some respects improbable, nevertheless the persons accused by him of having sold the liquor should have been subjected to a proper trial, in order that their innocence or guilt might be fully established. If there were good reasons to suspect Francisco Vadillo of being the guilty person, he also ought to have been arraigned and regularly tried. In future, it will be necessary for you to arraign, try, and if proved guilty, commit all persons accused of selling liquor to Indians, in the manner directed in the governor's proclamation of the 29th of December last. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. Don PEDRO C. CARRILLO, Acalde of Santa Barbara, California. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 21, 1848. SIR: Your letter and accompanying papers announcing the return of Don Pio Pico have been received. You will require Don Pico to immediately report himself to you, and to give his written parole of honor that he will take no part whatever in the existing war between the United States and Mexico, either by bearing arms himself or by inducing others to do so, or by giving the Mexicans any aid or assistance of whatsoever character. Should he refuse to give such parole, he will be held as a prisoner of He must of course be treated with all the respect due to his rank and character; but, at the same time, a strict watch must be kept upon his conduct. war. By order of the governor: H. W. HALLECK, Lieutenant of Engineers, and Secretary of State. Colonel J. D. STEVENSON, Commanding, &c., Los Angeles, California. STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF CALIFORNIA, Monterey, July 21, 1848. SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant, enclosing certain papers relating to the cargo of the "Joven Guipuscuana." The governor directs that the vessel be entered according to the original invoices, paying on them the duties required by the present tariff. As these tariff regulations must have been known at Lima even before they reached this country, the governor does not feel himself justified in remitting the fine required by the tariff, (vide page 14 of Bibby's pamphlet,) and which will be imposed accordingly by the collector at San Pedro. If the invoices are not verified as required by the tariff regulations, the one-quarter additional duties will also be imposed. (Vide article 10, page 17, of Bibby's pamphlet.) The collector |