attempts were made at the last moment not only to buy a vote for the bill but also to keep one or two senators from voting against it. Peck for one had to be guarded against being kidnapped and kept away. But when the vote came on, every man was in his place. The assembly in the morning had passed the bill by a vote of forty-one to thirty-eight and then adjourned to witness the struggle in the senate. In that body great excitement prevailed, manifested by an ominous silence. The chamber was crowded. Broderick himself was present, wrought up to the highest state of tension. The vote was taken by roll-call, and each senator, as his name was called, answered as had been expected except Jacob Grewell of Santa Clara, who to the surprise of nearly everybody and to the consternation of the opponents of the bill, when his name was reached, voted for it. His vote, which if given the other way would have defeated Broderick, made a tie of seventeen to seventeen; and this was immediately resolved in favor of Broderick by the casting vote of Samuel Purdy, lieutenant-governor and president of the senate.1

The Broderick men broke forth in a tumult of cheering and shouting. They rose and rushed from their places to congratulate one another and their chief, who had made the great fight. It was a time for triumph and exultation. No more business could be done that day; and the senate adjourned. But, as a matter of fact, the fight was not yet won. Grewell was essentially a weak man and could no more be depended on for one side than for the other. While the Broderick men had hold of him, he was for Broderick; but in the course of the night after the vote, the other side got hold of him; and when the opposition had hold of him, he was for the opposition. The latter induced him the next day to move a reconsideration, which was carried by a vote of eighteen to fifteen; and the same day the bill that had passed the assembly was rejected in the senate by a vote of seventeen to fourteen. The second day afterwards, as soon as the senate bill could be reached, the entire subject matter was indefinitely postponed by a vote of nineteen to twelve; and a motion to reconsider was defeated by a vote of nineteen to eleven. With these votes the project of forcing on the election 1O'Meara, 67–73; Senate Journal, 1854, 260.

was ruined; and Broderick's hopes of seeing himself United States senator were, for the time at least, hopelessly crushed.1

Though thus defeated in his attempt to bring on the election and take advantage of his admitted majority on joint ballot, Broderick did not by any means give up his contest for Gwin's place. He was not the kind of a man to give up while hope remained; and he was not one to believe there was no hope while life remained. His defeat only nerved him to stronger and more persistent effort. But in the meanwhile great changes were going on in national politics, creating new conditions and arraying parties in new combinations. The gradual loss by southern politicians of the preponderating power in the councils of the nation and their efforts to resist the inevitable fall of the socalled slaveocracy was rapidly precipitating the irrepressible conflict. Broderick, though born south of Mason and Dixon's line, was an anti-slavery man. Almost from the start of his career in California, he had manifested a deep-rooted antipathy to southern domination. In 1850 he had opposed a bill leveled against the immigration of free negroes; and in 1852 he had voted against the fugitive slave law. He had denounced United States Senator Stephen A. Douglas and his truckling policy on the subject of slavery; and in 1854, when a resolution was introduced into the California legislature in favor of the Nebraska bill, in which Douglas indorsed squatter sovereignty, the fugitive slave law and the repeal of the Missouri compromise for the territories, though there were Democratic votes enough to adopt it, the out-and-out Broderick men voted against it."

In effect Broderick was at that time of no party except his own. He still claimed to be a Democrat; but he was not a southern or chivalry Democrat, nor a Douglas or Nebraska-bill Democrat. He was simply an Anti-Lecompton or rather an Anti-southern-domination Democrat. He therefore, though with a strong personal following, stood substantially alone; but he was also backed by a powerful underlying, not yet developed but Senate Journal, 1854, 264-285; O'Meara, 73-81.

Journals of Legislature, 1850, 347, 373.

*Senate Journal, 1852, 285.

Senate Journal, 1854, 450, 451; Assembly Journal, 1854, 508; Stats. 1854, 274.

rapidly growing, anti-slavery sentiment, which in the end redeemed, ennobled and made a hero of him. As already intimated, his election scheme had hardly failed before he entered with redoubled energy upon the campaign for the next autumn; and he devoted all his time and effort to the election of delegates to the Democratic state convention, which had been fixed to meet at Sacramento on July 18, 1854. All this time, however, his enemies were not idle. They were no longer united as they had been during the struggle in the legislature; but they were numerous; and in many places they elected sets of delegates, in opposition to those elected by Broderick's friends, with the intention of making a fight in the convention itself as to which set should be entitled to seats. Meanwhile Broderick had managed by his mastery in the state convention of 1853 to become chairman of the Democratic state central committee; and as such it became his duty to make arrangements for the convention, call it to order and set its machinery in motion.

The Democratic state convention of 1854, on account of the circumstances under which it was held and what took place at it, was one of the most remarkable ever held. Broderick had hired the First Baptist church building on Fourth Street in Sacramento for its sessions; and he so arranged the seating of the various delegations as to have all his own friends in front next the large platform, upon which the officers were to be seated; while the seats of opposition delegates were more removed; and for some none at all were provided. In addition to this, the Broderick delegates were instructed to obtain access to the building by a rear entrance in advance of the hour for meeting, while the opposition would have to wait until the front doors. should be unlocked and thrown open for general admission. As it happened, however, the anti-Broderick opposition, whom his tactics tended to unite, got wind of his plans and determined by a bold move on their own part to anticipate and defeat them. They accordingly joined and agreed upon ex-governor John McDougal as their candidate for president and upon a list of anti-Broderick delegates as committees on credentials and organization. To carry out their plans a body of thirty determined. men, with their candidates in their midst, just before three.

o'clock in the afternoon, the hour appointed for the meeting, made their way to the Baptist church and, before the Broderick arrangements could be completed, forced their way into the building and, in spite of Broderick's henchmen consisting of Billy Mulligan, James P. Casey and others of like character, advanced up in front of the platform. When Broderick, as was required by his position, called the convention to order, John O'Meara immediately jumped up and nominated McDougal as president. This was entirely unexpected to Broderick and for a moment he was confused; but in that moment Thomas L. Vermeule of Santa Clara, who had been chosen to nominate Edward McGowan on the Broderick side, made his motion. Broderick at once, inclining towards Vermeule, exclaimed, “I recognize the gentleman from Santa Clara. The seat of the other gentleman is contested and I will not recognize him." Upon this George W. Hook shouted, "You have no right to decide that. Your duty is to put the first motion made, and no matter who makes it. Broderick, however, paid no attention to Hook and proceeded to put the question on the nomination of McGowan. The consequence was great disorder, in the midst of which the motion of McDougal's candidacy was put and declared carried about the same time that Broderick announced the McGowan motion carried. At the announcements, both presidents rushed forward. On and about the platform there were many excited men, some with pistols in their hands which they were excitedly brandishing and all violently gesticulating, shouting and threatening to shoot. A friend of Broderick, who tried to intercept McDougal was shoved aside; and both presidents reached the platform at the same time.'

There probably never was before or since in California a large political meeting in which there seemed more imminent danger of bloodshed. There were about six hundred persons present and among them not a few of the most desperate characters in the country. Everybody was wild with excitement; everybody was armed and numbers on the floor as well as on the platform had their pistols in their hands. It seemed as if a single spark would involve the whole in explosion. A blow or other sharp

'O'Meara, 88-93.

provocation might perhaps have brought on a conflict, which could not well have eventuated otherwise than in general slaughter. And yet, notwithstanding the terrible tension and tragical suspense, there were at the same time elements of comic extravagance and ludicrous absurdity about the affair. The two presidents, upon reaching and mounting the platform, took seats side by side amidst a scene of great confusion and tumult. As soon as something like order was restored, McDougal announced the names of George W. Hook and John Bidwell as vice-presidents and was immediately followed by McGowan's announcing the names of John T. Hall and Amos T. Laird as vice-presidents. The two sets of vice-presidents advanced to the platform and seated themselves by the sides of their respective leaders; and again a scene of extreme confusion occurred. Two sets of secretaries and committees were next appointed and two sets of reports were made, each recommending that the officers chosen on its side should be declared permanently elected; and motions to adopt the reports were declared carried-one by each president. Every now and then there were angry speeches and menacing movements. Charges of bolting and treachery were heard on every side. Broderick charged McDougal with refusing to vote for Bigler, the regular nominee of the Democratic party at the election of 1853. A McDougal man answered by charging that Broderick's friend Vermeule had scratched Bigler's name at the same election. A Broderick man replied that John Bidwell had not voted for Bigler, and Bidwell rejoined that it was true he had not voted for Bigler; and he did it in a tone that indicated that he would not vote for him if he were put up again. Some attempts to compromise were made, which were ineffectual and only led to more noise and confusion; but the results demonstrated that there was a great deal more brag than fight in the double-barreled convention.

At one time in the course of the meeting, a pistol was discharged near the platform; and there was a general scramble, some of the delegates jumping from the windows. It was, however, soon found that the weapon belonged to A. R. Meloney and that it had gone off while he was nervously fumbling at it in his belt. The ball seems to have penetrated the floor; but