The weekly Placer herald., 1854-01-14

fornla was wild and uncutivated depart
ment of a dec ming nation-to-duV, she
stands unrivallpd in the wealth Of her
monntalns-the fertility of her Valleys
the importance of her growing commerce,
and the energy and intel igence of her
people. Nor are we wanting in other
monuments which mark our wealth. en-.
terpriSe, and prosperity. Our cities,
/ spreading their fair proportions upon our
inland seas, navigable rivers, and in oar
mining districts, abound in structures
equal to any which adorn the emporium,
of the Atlantic; our broad acres are be
ing rapidly subjected by the hand of cul-
ture, and our granarieS and teening
warehouses attest, alike, the bounty Of
the soil, and the prosperity Of our people
The people of California, though great
ly absorbed in the development of her un-
equa ed mineral wealth, and in prepar-
ing for Il more full enjoyment Of her vast
commercial advantages, have not been
unmndiul Of other great interests. Tn
education of the youth of the State has
been the subject of much sulicitude, and
in view of the fact that the families of onr
citizens are daily coming to our shores,
and settling upon the pub ic domain, a
/ system ofpuhlic instruction is being ma
tured, worthy of the great Pacific STATE,
and entirely adequate to the wants of the
rising generntion. Congress, with com
mendabIe liheraIty, has donated lands to
the State, which, if properly disposed of,
it is confidently believed, wi ! yield not
less than eleven millions Of dollars for
school purposes. This sum, judlciou>ly
applied in fostering system OF Common
Schools, will he found amply sufficient to
educate all the children Of our tate, and
thus give a high character to our civil
institutions The education of the masses
is Justly esteemed the ground work of
free institutions, and the enduring basis
of constitutional liberty. We have, in
deed reason for congratularjOn, my fellow
citizens, that our school fund, inferior 10
! that ct no Other State, promises, for future
generations, the intelligence so necessary
to the preservation of the free institutions
under which we SO happily live ami
prosper.
III the, midst Of exciting scenes and gen
erHl prosperity, we have not been forget
ful OF the demands 0t humanity. Owing
II the great distance traver-ed by the
rmigrait and the privations endured
inafiy reach Our borders "sick and dpSti-
tute''-" strangers in a strange Iand."-
Their necessities have not been forgotten;
the hand of charity has been freely ex-
tended Hospitals for the relief Of the
sick and insane have been provided, and
thrown vide open for their receptions;
large appropriations from the public tren'
>urY have been annually made for their
relief by former legislatures, and these
a>yuns will ever remain monuments Of
| the humanity and henehcenre of our peo
/ pie, aud enduring evidences, that, even
/ IN the iucipient stages Of our political
existence, suffering humanity received the
relief and comfort reqnlred.
For the suppression and punishment
of crime, there has been erected, during
the past year, a secure State Prison.
Heretofore, almost entirely dependent
upon individuals and counties for the safe
| keeping Of criminals, there has been,
comparatively, an immunity from puh-
>hnent. This fact, aud the no less inn
portant one, that escapes was possible,
emboldened the viscious and daring, and
served greaty y to increase crme--for, it
is not so much the "Serer1ty of punish
ment as the certainty of its infllcton"
which holds vii iany in check. But now
that we have secure Pris0n--that escape
is hopeless, and punishment certain,
crime, it is hoped and believed, will
rapidly diminish.
Justly proud of our adopted State, it
may not be Improbable for us, on this
occasion, to recnr once more 10 the st' ne :,
the trials, the difficulties, and the event
tul triulnpIls which marked IN era in the
history of the world the birth of new
! State into the American tOntederacy.
| Springing into new life, after Iethargic
! sleep of centuries, California opened to an
a-toniShed wor d the hidden wealth of her
mountains and her flnwer-clnd valleys,
J the presage of future productiveneSs.
I For ages had her golden sands been
! washed from their mountain heights, and
the rivulets and streams, which terti IZed
/ her y aims, bore golden flakes on their
resistiess floods But 1t was reserved tor
| the research and energy OF our own peu-
ple, first TO discover, and then to deveiop
! the hidden wealth., which added IA new
! field to the labor, enterprise and COM
mprce of the world, aud which, for cen
turtles, had remained unknown to the III
hautants Of the Pacific coast. Excited
bv the Intelligence waited to their ears
! from the Pacific shore, the American
people, who, by their intelligence, energy
and all those virtues which exalt a nation,
have acquired the right to disseminate
freedom aud civl ZatIOn-the right to in
cucate upon the decaying frame Of de--
uutlsu m. living prlnciples of civil and