HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, San Francisco, California, September 30, 1817. SIR: Governor Mason directs me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th instant, and to assure you that he fully appreciates the motives of humanity and kindness that have influenced your conduct to the sick and abandoned sailors at San Francisco, but that it is not in his power to use the funds derived from the customs for any other purpose than that of defraying the civil expenses of the government of California. With great respect, your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, First Lieut. 3d Artillery, A. A. A. General. Dr. T. M. LEAVENWORTH, San Francisco, California. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, San Francisco, California, September 30, 1847. SIR: You will be pleased neither to grant nor to give any deed for any town lots or other land to the southward of the Rincon point, and eastward of a line commencing at the northwest corner of the government reserve at the said Rincon point, and running south eleven degrees west (S. 11° W.) with the true meridian. The land eastward of the abovenamed line is intended for the use of the United States government, the southern boundary of which will be more particularly described when the town surveys are more fully completed. I have the honor to be your most obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, First Lieut. 3d Artillery, A. A. A. General. GEORGE HYDE, Esq. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, San Francisco, California, September 30, 1847. SIR: I have the honor to inform you that I have this day ordered Cap. tain J. L. Folsom, United States army, to perform the duties of collector and harbor master of the port of San Francisco, California. Your duties as collector, &c., will therefore cease with the present month, and you will please turn over to Captain Folsom all funds, books, papers, boats, or whatever else you may have belonging to the office of collector of customs and harbor-master. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, First Lieutenant 3d Artillery, A. A. A. General.; WM. RICHARDSON, Esq., Collector of the Port of San Francisco, California. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, San Francisco, California, October 1, 1847. GENTLEMEN: The letter of your committee of this day's date has been received; and, in answer, I have to inform you First. That the jurisdiction of the present town council of San Francisco is confined to the limits of the town survey, the boundaries of which I have instructed the alcalde to have marked as soon as convenient. Second. The duties of the council are prospective, not retrospective. They cannot impair the obligation of contracts entered into by the previous town authorities, nor take jurisdiction of the action or conduct of such authorities further than to modify or repeal any law or ordinance created by said authorities, and now in force, which they may deem inconsistent with the interests of the community. These instructions, together with those contained in my letter of the 15th July, 1847, authorizing the election of the town council, are deemed sufficiently explicit to enable the council to begin a system of policy for the future that will develop the resources and protect the interests of the citizens of San Francisco. Whatever expenses may be contemplated, or improvements made, it is strongly recommended that the town be kept perfectly free of debt. Since my arrival here, I have received three petitions from the citizens, through the hands of a committee, for the removal of Geo. Hyde, esq., from his office of alcalde of the town. The committee, Messrs. Ward, Brannan, and Ross, also handed me distinct charges, signed by themselves, and herewith handed to you, against Mr. H., of a serious nature, that demand investigation. This is due to Mr. Hyde himself, and to the citizens of the town. I have selected you, gentlemen, to perform this duty of making a thorough investigation of these charges, and to report to me the facts of the case, with your opinion thereon. You have just been chosen by the people of this town to regulate their public affairs and to guard their interests. To whom, then, could I so well confide this duty? You must feel the importance of scrutinizing the charges against the chief magistrate of our town; but, while the interests of the community require an examination, the respect due to his office. demands that Mr. Hyde be allowed every privilege and facility to explain any facts, or produce any testimony, that his case may call for. You are hereby authorized to call upon Mr. Hyde for a full exhibition of his accounts and general administration of the affairs of the town since they have been under his direction, that you may examine and report thereon. Relying upon your integrity and patriotism, I am, gentlemen, your most obedient servant, R. B. MASON, Colonel 1st Dragoons, Governor of California. To the Town COUNCIL ELECT of San Francisco. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, Monterey, October 6, 1847. SIR: Governor Mason directs me to acknowledge the receipt of your resignation of the office of captain of the California battalion of mounted riflemen, and to inform you that that battalion was discharged by Lieutenant Colonel Fremont about the 27th of April last, and that of necessity your commission ceased with the existence of the battalion. The battalion was likewise discharged in a manner not in accordance with the laws of the United States, and cannot receive pay until further action is had by the government. He regrets, therefore, that he cannot at this time order you to be paid; but assures you he fully appreciates your services and friendship, to which Commodore Stockton bears such high testimony. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, First Lieutenant 3d Artillery, A. A. A. General. Den SANTIAGO E. ARGUILLO, of San Diego, California. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, Monterey, California, October 11, 1847. SIR: Commodore Shubrick has been pleased to apply to Colonel Mason for your services and those of your command in Lower California, to assist him in carrying on the military operations of this season against the west coast of Mexico. In consequence, it is ordered that, if compatible with the safety of that portion of California, you leave at La Paz or San José such officers and men of your present command as will insure the safety of our flag there, and with the balance embark and co-operate with the naval forces in any attack that they may make against Mazatlan or other ports on the west coast of Mexico. The instructions from the War Department are explicit that our sovereignty must be maintained; and in adopting your measures in obedience to the above instructions, you are expected, upon consultation with the naval commander, to insure this before embarking upon the present expedition. The colonel commanding expects that no efforts will be spared on your part to secure that unity of action and feeling so essential to all military combinations. This must in a great measure result from your own good sense and judgment; but in connexion with the subject, I am directed to refer you to an extract of the instructions of the Navy Department to Commodore Shubrick of August 17, 1847, and to paragraphs 24, 25, and 26, Army Regulations, (edition of 1825,) copies of which are herewith enclosed to you, and which have been received and made obligatory upon the army and navy by the orders of the President, through the Navy and War Departments.' When on board of any armed vessel, your command will be as passengers, not marines; but the most perfect discipline will still be kept up; and in the event of the ship finding herself in action, you and your command will not fail to show yourselves at least as efficient as any equal number of marines whatever. You will continue to render your reports the same as though you were still on shore, reporting those left at La Paz as on detached service. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. T SHERMAN, Lieut. Col. BURTON. Acting Assistant Adjutant General. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, SIR: Your letter of the 5th instant, transmitting the proceedings of the military comission in session at Los Angeles, has been received; and in answer to your inquiries as to the powers of a military commission, I am directed by Colonel Mason to say that the court of military commission is a novel one, created by General Scott in his orders No. 20, dated Tampico, February 19, 1847. This order sets forth the necessity for such a tribunal, and is so clear and logical as to leave no doubt as to its character and powers. The commission is strictly military in its composition, in its form of trial, mode of passing sentence and executing punishment, and has power to try in any enemy's country for atrocities beyond reach of the rules and articles of war, which in the United States would be punished by the ordinary or civil courts of the land. The second paragraph of the above mentioned order enumerates many crimes, by way of illustrating this class, over which the commission have jurisdiction; but these are not all, as the first paragraph in general terms embraces all crimes of magnitude not otherwise provided for. In awarding sentence, the commission is not required to follow the statutes of any one State, but is merely required not to exceed in severity "the punishment for like cases in any one of the States of the United States of America." This you see is a limit, not a rule, although it seems the commission at Los Angeles has governed its proceedings by the statutes of New York, and awarded to private John Smith, 1st dragoons, a sentence of imprisonment in a State prison, where, strictly speaking, there is not such a thing within thousands of miles. This would completely defeat the ends of justice, and shield from punishment many who richly deserve it. The commission should try a prisoner by the laws of warthe unwritten supplemental code, as it is termed by General Scott-and not by the statutes of any particular State, and should merely limit the amount of punishment by that which would be inflicted for a like offence in any one of the States of the Union: for instance, when the civil statute would imprison a person for five years, the commission would sentence him to confinement for a period not exceeding five years, leaving to the revenue officer to select the place of confinement. I send herewith certified extracts from the statutes of Missouri, and digest of the laws of Texas, defining and punishing the crime of burglary. These are the only law books I have access to, that treat of the subject; and I also regret that it is not in my power to send you the proceedings of other military commissions that would serve as precedents to yours, and show the custom in like cases. A Vera Cruz newspaper received here some time ago, but not on hand now, contained the order promulgating the proceedings of a military commission that had tried two persons-one a negro, citizen of the United States-for having committed a rape upon a Mexican woman; he was sentenced to be hung, and was accordingly executed by order of General Scott: the other a volunteer soldier, for having committed theft, in taking by force from a woman a comb and ten dollars, for which he was sentenced to one month's imprisonment. This was ordered to be carried into effect at the castle of St. Juan de Ulua. No particular statutes seem to have been followed, and the commission awarded sentences just in themselves, and such as could be executed. It is conceived advisable for all military courts and commissions to aim at substantial justice, avoiding as much as possible learned technicalities and distinctions. Theft and larceny are the same in substance, although, for convenience, lawyers have adopted the latter, dividing it into grand and petit. This distinction is not made by General Scott, as he seems to have aimed at crimes by the names by which they are known to the world at large. The charges against Stokely have not, therefore, been changed. The negro boy, Pete Beggs, is certainly amenable to martial law, and should be tried, unless some pledge has been made him to induce him to confess against his accomplices, or unless Captain Smith prefers to punish the boy himself, to the satisfaction of the gentleman he robbed; otherwise you will please prefer proper charges against him, and cause him to be arraigned before the commission. I cannot see, by the laws before quoted, that any distinction is made between a slave and a free person in punishment for burglary or larceny; but in the State of Texas, for grand larceny (stealing above the value of twenty dollars) the statute prescribes a punishment of thirty-nine lashes on the bare back, and imprisonment not exceeding five years. I send you back the proceedings of the commission, that the sentence awarded private Smith may be reconsidered, and that it may resume the business that still remains before it. I have the honor to be your most obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, First Lieutenant 3d Artillery, A. A. A. General. Assistant Surgeon J. S. GRIFFIN, Judge Advocate, Military Commission, Los Angeles, California. HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, Monterey, California, October 20, 1847. SIR: I am directed by Colonel Mason to call your attention to general orders Nos. 16 and 17, of 1847, copies of which you will receive from Los Angeles. These authorize you to accept the services of individual volunteers, so as to increase the strength of your company to one hundred privates. Those whom you enlist should be enrolled for "during the war with Mexico," and their names, with the appropriate dates and remarks, entered upon the next muster rolls of your company. Volunteers so enrolled will be entitled to the same pay, allowances, bounties, and pensions, as are provided for those already in service. I have the honor to be your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, First Lieutenant 3d Artillery, A. A. A. General. · Captain F. J. LIPPETT, HEADQUARTERS TENTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT, MAJOR: Your letter of the 17th, addressed to Lieutenant Sherman, acting assistant adjutant general, has been received. The man you speak of as having stabbed the mate of the ship Vesper must be turned over to the alcalde for trial. It will never do to let such atrocious crimes be committed on board of ships in the California ports, and go unpunished, because there happen to be no higher courts than those of the alcaldes in the country; but I learn from good authority that the alcaldes have always tried such cases, and, where the laws punished with death, the governor either sent the case to Mexico for final orders, or ordered the execution himself. This case, of course, is not punishable with death, and it will be very proper for |