Weekly national intelligencer., 1850-10-12
O,cnership Of the Public Lands and Hines 10
California.

Messrs. EDIroRs Mr. Senator SoULB, Of Louisiana, not
wthsandng his known acquaintance with the Spanish lam
guage and laws has fallen into curious Mistakes in his
recent speech in the Senate concerning the actual condition
of the mining laws Of Spain and Mexico; and his remarks
intended and calculated to prejudice the application Of
State for admission into the Union, brief correction OF his
mistakes may perhaps be worth much space in your cos
umns Mr. Soue's idea is, that in, the ample permission
which the Spanish Soveregns gave private individuals to
discover possess and work mines, the Grown thereby parted
with its entire patmony in the mines To establish this ne
quotes law of Philip H. in the ordinances of the New Code
ESQ caled respecting mne and extract from the Kecop
lacion of the Indas, as follows:
Neu Code Ordinance H-"In order to benefit and favor
our subjects and the natives of these kingdoms and all other
though strangers to these kingdoms who
shall work discover any silver mines whatsoever discover
ed tobe discovered it is will and command that they
shall have he and that they shall be their possession
and property, and that they may them as acih any
thing of their o,O observng both in regard to what they
have pay In the way Of duty and in all other respects
the regulations and arrangements ordered by this edc in the
manner hereinafter mentioned fsa..
La,os of the Indies title 10, lib. d,o l"It is our
pleasure and will that all subjects whether Indians or
Spanards and Of whatever saton condition. rank, dig
nty except governors minister's &c may work the mines
freely and without mpedmen in such manner that they may
be common to all, and in all quarters and limits"
Mr. Soule enormously terms these extracts "grants,
whereas they are but us and to support the conclusion
which he draws from he nsmey, that through them the
sovereign diyesed himself of all right Of domain the
mining repositories within the possessions which Spain then
held in the new world" he refers to the opinions Of Don
Mateo de Lagune Judge of the audency of Quito and OF
the Cardinal de Luca. The works Of these authors am
acquainted WITH ertso, and am not aware that they
exist in the United States. But am acquainted with so
much of them as imagine, M Soue himself bad access
TO- namely what quoted from them in Gsmboas Commen-
tares on the Spanish Mining Laws, and it is certain that in
these his suggestion that they have set the opinion
he advances efugent light as to be irresistible, is
borne AT all events those writer's stand alone
among the authors who of that subject in the view
they take Of the effect of those laws Doa Gaspare de sca-
Iona author Of an elaborate work (aso quoted in Gamboa
under the title of Gazofiaco Real de el Reyno del Peru,
(Gazophlacum Regum Perubicum takes exactly the con-
ary view. So also Soozano in his work on the govern
men laws and policy Of the Indies well as others quoted
by GamLoa Likewise, Gamboa himself whose Commenta-
res the New Code the most celebrated work in the
Spanish language laws Of mines and mining entirely
disputes and conues the opinion expressed by De Luea and
Lagunes Finally, the modern author, Escrice, Madrid
ls47 remarkng this very law Of the New Code, quoted
by Mr. Soue says that leaves in its force the said inco
poraton the royal patiimony of all mines Of god silver
and quicksilver (deando fuezi la reeda ncorPora
con real patromono de odas las minas de ORC, plata
azogu)
The weight Of authority and reason therefore, agains
the position of Mr. Soule suppoeng the existing law
Of the subject stop with his quotations But they do not
The remarkable Of his mistakes is in quoting only par
Of the law and that the part that has least bearing the sub
ect-maer of his DISCOURSE His quotations relate TO tn
mines of Old Spain except only the extract given from for
Law of the Recopilacon de Indas whereas the grea
mining repositories whinthe posse then held by SPar
in the New World which tho point of Mr. Soues re
mas covered by distinct and codes, TO wit
that Of Peru and the celebrated Mining Ordinances OF Neu
Span adopted by royal ordern 1888 Both these codes de
clare mines Of the precious meas,o be property Crocn
That of New Spain, which the law in California declare
title " l, "On the Radical Dominion Of the Mines
follows: "Mnes belong my roys crown, both by thei
and origin, and by their reunion provided in law
13, book g. of the Nueva RecopIacon The same code
to be sure, did the laws which preceded it, provides
means by which the immediate property Cor properl
usu since is expressly provided that the mines shoul
not be thereby separated from the royal parmony)
mines might be transferred to ndvdusls but would be to
much, for this illogical branch Of Mr. Soues argument
TO say that because law provides mode in which the dc
may be gradually dvesed that therefore and theeb
the whole stands divested And the ascy Of the opnio
will be still apparent when consider that the crow
Invested Of its ownership, those mines which were n
e occupied would be without any ownership at amere wait
On the contrary, the prescription Of means by which su