Chinese Miner Shot by a Tax Collector

In late March 1860, near Georgetown, California, a Chinese miner was shot and killed during a confrontation with a road tax collector. The Daily National Democrat reported tersely that a Chinese man was “shot dead by F. Williams, a Deputy Road Tax Collector.” The Weekly Butte Democrat identified the shooter as A. H. Connelly and said a coroner’s jury ruled the death “necessary self defense.” The conflicting reports agree on the central fact: a Chinese miner was killed by a tax official during enforcement of a discriminatory tax.