Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-11-13
CALIFORNIA NEWS.

ber- meeting of merchants and business men
was held at San francisco the 9th, to take into
consideration the best means for the relief of the
commercial interest Of the city from the serious dilemma
in which Il had been placed by the refusal to receive the
ngots OF the assay Office in payment Of duties at the Gus
tom-house Among the speakers was the Hon. THOMAS
BUTLER KING Collector and Assistant Treasurer of the
port who made the following explanation relative to the
circumstances under which the action complained of had
been taken:
: The act OF 1850 authorizes the employment of as
sayes, and the establishment of assay Offices 10 convert
gold into ngots which shall be placed the degree of
hneness ana actual value The result is that the assayers
stamp each piece after weighing and assayng it, that it
contains 800 OF coin of the United States Thus they
stamp these pieces but if you look on their faces you
will hnd them Of various degrees Of neness nor are they
Of the neness of coin Of the United States This value
however is stamped upon them and as far as that goes
they are OF the value of fifty dollars but not of the fine
ness OF COIN OF the United States This cuts off and
prevents the receipt Of ngots stamped under the law Of
ooo declares that the gold issued under the new act
shall be Of the neness of coin Of the United States
a committee of five finally appointed to confer
th the officers Of the United States Government to make
some arrangement of the matter This committee report
ed at an adjourned meeting that Mr. KING had consented
cohuohay 70 assume the responsibility of receiving the
ingots in payment duties Five trustees were then ap
pointed to execute bond to the Collector securing the
u
other legal COIN equal to the amount Of ngots re-
ceiyed by him. A memorial on the subject was then
adopted and ordered be forwarded to the Treasury
! Department
/ MEETING OF PosTMAsTERs.
1 A meeting of Postmasters Of California was held at
San Francisco the 18th Of October at which about
forty Offices represented A memorial was adopted
which sets forth the expenses incident conducting the
post Office department in California and after stating that
adequate provision has been made for meeting those
expenses, concludes as follows
your memoralists, therefore trusting to the Justice
of Congress- ask that provision be made by law for such
increase of the salaries and allowances of Posmasters
California and Oregon the exgences of the public SER
vice and the peculiar state of affairs the Pacific render
Indispensable We satisfied that your honorable body
need only to be truly informed Of the of things here
be satisfied Of the necessity Of providing an adequate
remedy for existing evils
THE MINES
The Savannah Union makes the following statement
relative to mining operations on American river
There is doubt of the utter failure already of
many, very many of the fuming operations upon the 1
forks OF the American river which have been
ed the present In few instances these failures
attributable to bad management: as for example
the ncapabilty of fumes to contain the entire water of
the stream the insecure in which they have been
constructed and the reckless and unwarranabe expen
dlture OF money, &C. But from personal observation,
well careful inquiry compelled to chronicle the
fact that the earth in MANY Of the claims drained is either
worthless or so poor as to fail of rcmuneang the miner
for the expense he has incurred and the labor he has en-
dured in reaching the subaqueous dirt.
g The truth, then, is apparent to minds that the
great portion of river beds laid bare the present
has thus far proved to say the least but partially
cessfu The instances Of good luck have obtained very
general publicity but the unfortunate enterprises have
seldom been recorded.
But, while regret to hear Of so many disastrous
results encouraged in the belief that if the pre-
npfh IL alYel
longer, large proportion Of the companies which have
been compelled to suspend operations will yet retrieve
their fallen fortunes after their fumes have been repair
ed Other companies, which, owing to the high water,
have yet got into the bed Of the rivers will succeed
in completing their fumes and reaping handsome re-
turn for their labor
The same paper furnishes favorable exhibit Of the
operations of the companies engaged in the vicinity
Big Bar, on the middle fork Of the American river.
The Sonora Herald Of October says: 90 The miners
have been quite excited in this neghborhood for some
time pastin consequence Of finding much gold
than they expected The Kanaka company have got into
the bed of the river and last week they took about
700 ounces The Union company took out last week l40
ounces This is the fifth weeks dividend Of this com
pany. One small company the New York bar has
shared twenty ounces per man for six days work.
The tunnel company in this neghborhood has Just struck
the earth They have been for some time past blasting
through the solid rock with the intention Of draining the
earth above This company claim the large red bluff OPP
posite Sevenss Bar, from which there has been large
quantity of gold obtained. The wheel companies
still continue to work and make about seven dollars per
day to the hand
From the Shasta, Rogue river, Humboldt and Trinity
regions the reports favorable Provisions however
and high.
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
The Alta California states that the Indian Affairs Of the
country in very tranquil condition Notwithstanding
the threatening aspect which they presencdin parts
of the interior few weeks previous.
The San Francisco Times furnishes the following items
"a party of men on Clear Creek in Shasta county re
number Of squaws and children. During their absence
they killed fourteen Indians The bodies of three white
men, one woman, and three children recently found
beyond the Butte, twelve miles from the immigrant trail
leading Yreka They had evidently been butcheredby
the Indians.
Delegations from various Indian tribes have recently
made their appearance at Weayerye, and asked the pr
vilege of making treaties with the white inhabitants
The hope is INDUCED that this movement will be produc
tive Of much good"
THE OVERLAND IMMIGRATION.
The San Francisco Transcript of October Is says:
For three weeks past the news received from the
overland immigration has been very indefinite giving
idea Of the condition Of affairs the plains Ii pre-
sumabe from this that nothing extraordinary has taken
place. otherwise should have received more complete
accounts 1t is generally believed that there will be
great amount of distress among the emigrans this
son. and certainly thus far this belief has been realized
We learn from a gentleman who has come through from
Salt Lake since the Goth Of August however that be-
tween Salt Lake and the sink of the Humboldt there
were from five TO six hundred wagons all Of which had
short stocks provisions and unless relief was furnished
them the suffering would be great II is thought the
supplies at the relief stations will be annie IN nreyent