The weekly Placer herald., 1853-10-15
MAxurAc1uRr oe GoLn.-M Thetdore

I N;AsusAcruRE Of GoLD.--M Theodore
Tiffereau, Frenchman, cIaisns to have
discovered the means Of manufacturing
gold. In paper Iaii before the French
Academy of Sciences, he has put forth
his views and asserts thar he has actually
produced gold by artificinl means. The
process is thu, described:
"He proceeds upon principle, admit
ted by all chemists, that the properties OF
bodies are the result Of their molecular
constitution and he adduces numerous
examples in chemistry, in which bodies
assume different properties according MS
they have crystalized III one form or ano-
ther, although their composition remains
the same. 4 that he had to seek was a
su ubs,ance which, by it's cata'ytic forces,
would ac. upon the body which It was
desired to transnute, and then 10 place
,his last. under certain conditions, in con
tact with it to effect the change. He br
Iieves that there are hut very few simple
substances in nature, and considers that
the forty metals, now assumed 10 he suctl,
are in reality combinations, prAb*h'y
of some radical with some unknown body,
hitherto not studied, but which OF itself
alone mOdifes the properties of thus radl-
cal, and thus presents us apparent with
forty bodies, whilst i'm reality there Is hut
one. lfanv one has discovered this hody,
which has hitherto escaped the researches
Of philosophers, and can cause 1t to act
on any given metal. is there anything
surprising that he can change the nature
Of the metal by giving it with "A different
mo ocular constitution, the properties OF
thar metal IN which this constitution natu
rally exists? This he asserts he has done
| This week the Reading and Cruz Gre
vantes cases are t. he tried before the
District Court, on an appeal ordered hy
the Attorney General from the decision
of the first Board of Land commissioners
There have been some attempts made,
it is stated, bv parties holding grants
which have heen confirmed hy the old
Board, TO create The impression that the
period provided by Jaw for an appra tn
be taken by the United States had expir-
ell, and that therefore, the fee had finally
passed to them. plea has also been
made in the case now pending IN the U.
=. District Court to the same effect, the
Counsel assuming that the provisions of
the law under which the Claims were
submitted to and adiudged by the Land
Commissioners, could not be altered by
any supplementary act Of Congress. IL
is not to be supposed that motion 70
dismiss the cases referred to, will he sus
tained on this ground. The Attorney
General of the United States, acting
under the provisions Of law of the
last Congress, defining and extending the
time for appeals to be ordered, has sig =
nifed his intention 10 have all the cases
decided adverse to the Government, APP
pealed to the United States District
Court. Before this tribunal any new
evidence may he brought by those who
are interested. Hitherto, the settlers in
California have shown II strange ind'tier-
ence in matters intimately concerning
their interests. They have seldom or
ever manifested any concern in the i'm
portant duty Of bringing forward testino-
nv in behalf Of the Government; or TO re
but that offered by claimants. Their
who'e action has been limited to inei'er-
,ual meetings, and local organizations
without definite purpose or concert of ac-
,ion. Had they gone to work, and IN the
right way, there would have been poor
chance for many fraudulent clai thar
have been fortified principally 10y this
neglect 11me: and I'rnns.