Litchfield enquirer., 1850-01-03

bf maintaining the harmony and tranquil lity co dear t0 all. we should abutnin from
 tho introduction of tho1a exciting topics ol . sectional character which have hitherto prpdncea painful apprshensions in the pub
 lie mind 1: and 1 sspest the solemn warn ling of the first and most illnstTious of my
 predecessors against furnishing .,any ground tor charncterizing parties by geographical
 discriminatioas."
 A collector has been appointed at San Francisco, under the act of Congress ex- tending the revenue laws over California i; and measures have been taken to organize
 ihe custom-houses at that and the other ports mentioned in that net, at the earli- l est period practicable. The collector pro-
 eeeded overland. and adviccs have not yet Ebeen received of his arrival at San Fran
 .isco. Meanwhile. 1t Is understood, that he customs have continued to be collec- ted there by officers acting under the mi ,itary authority. as they were during the
 administration of my predecessor. It will. 1 think, be expedient to confirm the collec- lions thus made. and direct the avails, (af- I ter such allowance as Congress may think it to authorize,) to be expended within the I Territory, or to be paid into the Treasury, for the purpose of meeting appropriations for the improvement of its rivers and har- bors.
 l A party engaged on the coast survey, was despatched to Oregon in January last According to the latest advices, they had not left California and directions have been given to them, as soon as they shall have fixed on the sites of the two light houses aud the buoys authorized to be con- structsd and placed in Oregon, to proceed withoas delay to make reconnoisances of the most impostant points oa the coast of California, and especially 10 examine and determine on sites for lighthouses on the coast, the speedy erection of which is ur- gently demanded by our rapidly increasing commerce.
 | recommend the establishment of a
 branch mint in California, as it will, in my
 opinion, afford important facilities to those
 engaged in mining. as well as to the Gov ernment in the disposition of the mineral
 lands.
 'I 1 also recommend that commissions be organized by Congress, to examine and de- eide upon, the validity of the present sub- sistine lapd titles in California and New
 Mexico and that provision be made for | the establishment of offices of Surveyor General in New Mexico. California and
 Oregon; and for the surveying and bring ing into market the public lands in those Territories. Those lands, remote in posi- tion and difficult of access, ought to be dis posed of on terms liberal to all but espe- ccially favorable to. the early emigrants.. In order that the situation and character of the principal mineral deposits in Cali fornia may be ascertained, l recommend that geological and mineralogical exploration Ebe connected with the linear surveys. and that the mineral lands be divided into small tilots suitable for mining. and be disposed of, Eby sale or lease, so as, to give our citizens an opportunity of procuring permanent right of property in the soil. This would sem to De as important to the success of sE,sininms as of agricultural pursuits. The l great mineral wealth or CHftfUrnjas and the advantages which it's ports and harbors, and those of Oregon, afford to commerce, espe- cially with the islands of the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the populous regions of Eastern Asia, make it certain that there will arise, in few years, large and prosper ous communities on our western coast. It, therefore, becomes important that line of communication, the best and most expedi-1 tious, which the nature of the country will admit, should be opened within the territo- ry of the United States, from the navigable l waters of the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mex co, to the Pacific. Opinion, as elicited and expressed by two large and respectable con. ventions. lately assembled at St. Louis and Memphis, points to railroad as that which. if practicable. will best meet the wishesand wants of the country. But while this. if in successful operation. would be work ot great national importance. and of value to the, country which it would be difficult to estimate. 1t ought also to be regarded as all undertaking of vast magnitude and ex- penss. and one which must, if it be indeed, practicable, encounter many difficulties in its construction and use. Therefore. to avoid faihre and disappointment, to enable Congress to- judge whether. in the condi- tion of the country through which it must pass. the work be feasible. and if it be found so, whether it should be undertaken as a national improvement. or left to individual enterprise 1; and in the latter alternative. what aid. if any. ought to be extended to it bv the Government. l recommend as a preliminary measure. a careful reconnoi- sance of the several proposed routes by scientific corps, and report as to the prac- ticabilty of making such a rOad, with an estimate of the cost of its cOastruc tion and and support.
 | For further views on these and other matters connected with the duties of the Home Department, refen you to tho re- port of the Secretary of the Interior.