The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-02-25

portionate advantage upon the States. Wealth thus
acquired, az Il were by chance, and scattered over
the surface OF the earth 30 profusely TO require
neither skill nor labor for its collection as II is the
legitimate property OF the State, ought likewise to
contribute largely to the public excheauer There
Is no source from which the national purse can
more fairly be supplied than that of treasure rove
To turn these golden streams into the reservoir
scantily replenished by the produces of the taxes,
lnterferes with no branch of manufacture or trade.
and cramps no effort OF productive industry. Nor
- the gross profit derived by the community from
such prize. when left to be scrambled for by prl-
vate enterprise, at all commensurate with that
reaped by the Individual adventures. Money
quickly got Is quickly spent. 1t is not by large
fortunes swept up at single haul, but by the accu-
muaon Of small pIots hardly earned thrifty
their value by their personal skill and labor, that
the productive capital OF nation is Increased
linus the cotton manufacture ct England grew
Ike coral bank, not by capital borrowed from
the manufacturers themselves. Of the gold col
tcted on the Sacramento, the bulk will find its way
to Regent street and Ludgate hill, without having
iructihed IN due proportion IN the hands OF its
original owners. The levy Of royalty, such as
to leave an ample but not exorbita1t profit to the
speculater would have given the State Its share of
the booty, and at the same time have imposed
salutary restriction on the flow of the human tide
which, now rushing unchecked to California
bears with it, fear the plentiful seeds of famine,
disease and crime.
OF all this the government of the United States
We make no doubt, Is duly sensible. But the pre-.
dicament IN which it finds itself is a singuarly
awkward one. For what is the use of sending
soldiers and sailors to keep a country in order,
when NO human power Of restraint can prevent the
soldiers and sailors themselves from scampering
off to join the rest?. An American regiment as It
nears the spot, and feels the strong attraction of
the precious metal, can no more hold together than
could Sinbad's ship. when it approached the load
stone mountain. The prlvates dribble of first /;
then go the non commissioned officers; enslgns
and captains spend their last half crown in mat
tocks and mule-carts, and soon the foremost in
the headlong race. Last Of all, the colonel him.
self, left alone In his glory Is fam to follow the
example of his subalterns, and, putting his dignity
In his pocket, digs, scrapcs, aud washes & merriy
as his neighbors. One commanding officer Is
said to have made, by his exertions, upwards of
million dollars worth of dust. The Governor
himself Is missing, and is currently supposed to be
"seelng the placer for the third or fourth time,
attended by superhously large equlpage of bull
lock carts, spades, and tin pans. Fooled by the
irresistible influence, the government retires from
the contest, and leaves the creeks and valleys of
its remote dependency fast filling with the refuse
of Its haf.wild population, burning with the
greedlest OF passions that can animate the hui nan
breast-a of unbridled lawlessness, for which
we should vainly seek parallel IN any quarter OF
the civilized world