Georgetown weekly news., 1854-11-02
MINING AND THE M1NEs.-We are fully

aware of the truth that the real condition of
the mines all over California is not properly
understood by the public generally; for,
while there is an immense amount of gold
taken from the mines yearly, and while hun
dreds are constantly making fortunes, there
are also many who are constantly losing
those fortunes by engaging in still further
mining enterprises with the hope OF doub-
ling their gains; thus, we hear of conflicting
statements with regard to the products of
our mines. A fortune is made here in one
tunneIing enterprise, and is lost there in
another. One man, still confident in his ul-
innate success, tries it again, and, to the
ioy of his heart, like Euclid cries: Il have
found i'll" Another, with like hopes, tries,
but all in vain; pile with him is out of the
question, unless, indeed, he is willing to take
it at the sure, though somewhat slow rates
of four and five dollars per day; and, at this,
if content, almost every man may! we make
no exceptions, every man who enjoys good
health, is industrious, and, withal, is eco
nomical in his living, can eventually come
out with a snug little fortune. 1t is the
speculator who loses heavily, it is the dis
eontented and indolent who make nothing.
This may be, seemingly, rather a sweep
ing statement, but we will candidly ask any
one who has mined, if he had been content
ed with few dollars per day, and had not
prospected and run about in the hope of
gaining mOre-we repeat tiff he had been
thus contented with his four or five dollars
per day, would he not have been in possess
ion of it? We anticipate the answer-he
aroltld. And, yet, that contentment would
have been prejudicial to the development of
our great mineral resources, for, while it
would have been Of general benefit to the
actual laborer, our mines would have been
less developed, and our country would have
been the poorer; for, if spectators lose heav-
lily, they also make heavily, although, in
many instances, the proceeds, instead of 60
ing into the pockets of the speculator, go
directly into those of the tradesman, mer-
chant, mechanic, &C., and are by them scat
tered throughout the State, and from thence
into foreign countries, leaving, in many in
stances, but poor show for the unfortunate
hombre who made it. But here is what we
wish to impress on the minds of the public,
for it is Though the individual may
have expended more in an enterprise than
he individually received, though, in conse-
quence Of debt, he may be forced to sell ont
his possessions at comparatively nothing,
for the liquidation of those debts, and even
forced to leave involved, yet the mine is
opened, the money he spent in effecting it
is divided among the laborers and the hun
dreds of thousands that the mine Yields,
goes to fill the pockets of the individuals who
bought in, either for the purposes of retire
ment, or to those of other spectators. in
which latter case, it still tends to the en-
richment of the masses by its distribution
among labOrers and tradesmen. This latter
course is becoming more common, mining
has been reduced to system and, if fail
ures should occur, that system is to try again.
One wave brings a man under, another
again bears him aloft, and each succeeding
wave dashes upon the shores of its surround
ing community the proceeds of an abundant
crop Of gold. 1t matters not who has made
it, At IS made, and community is enriched
thereby. Had we in California all the
manufactures necessary to the wants of our
community, so that the proceeds of our la
Dor would not be swept away from us by
foreign commeaee, we would soon find in
California entirely different state of affairs
from what we now realize The present
vascillation of fortune would settle down
into the final wealth of the whole; as, in
stead of being divided among all nations, it
would be enjoyed by our own. The miners
do and 1ciH produce the gold, and when that
desirable end shall be accomplished, we will
enjoy the benefits of it.
Let us, therefore, encourage manufacto-
RES and immigration, and, in so doing, we
will give wealth. stability and independence
to all our inhabitants, both in and out of
the mines.
We have given the above losses and prof
its of the miners in order that those at
distance might know that all the proceeds
of rich mines are not always nett profits to
their owners, although they are nett profits
to the State, and also, that through proper
regulations as to our manufactures and
commerce, they cannot fail to enrich our