The weekly Placer herald., 1854-04-08
Railroad Grants for California
The State JOurnal---Senat
Gwin and Gen. MCDOugal.


Journal, Of Saturday, abused two of our
Representatives at Washington, Senator
Gwin and Gen McDougal, the latter es-
pecially, in a manner so derilect to the
integrity of that gentleman, and so shock
ing to the true interests of California.
that we are satisfied there must be some
extraordinary ause for such an extraord''
nary production two columns OF dlatrlbe
against Gen. McDougal for sins ne never
dreamed of, and which are thus attempted
10 be fastened upon his fair standing ~'th
the people of this State. They say:
"Mr. McDougal proposes in his bill. to
give the alternate sections for twenty miles
wide, on each side Of the road, tor its
whole length through California, to those
arho ,riH construct it,"
The bill of Gen. McDougal they quote
correctly in Section fourth:
SEC. 4. That for the purpose OF secur-
ing the construction of railroad and
a teegraphc line along said route from
the western terminus thereof TO the east
ern line Of the State of California, guam
tty of land equal to the alternate sections,
for the Width of ttoenty miles, on each s'de
of said road, to be selected from the Sec
tons which shall be designated on the
public surveys of said lands (when made)
by odd numbers, is hereby set apart, ap-
propriatng, and granted to the State Of
California, to aid in the construction OF
said road and telegraphic line, subject to
the terms, conditions and restrictions here
in mentioned. And in all cases where
the United States may have disposed Of
any lands herein designated as granted to
said State, or where, from any cause, the
United States shall he unable to convey
title to the same, the deficiency may be
made up by selections to be made under
the authority Of the Legislature Of said
State, from any unoccupied and unappro-
priated lands belonging to the United
States cithin the said State Of California,
such selections to be made from sections
designated on the surveys of the United
States by odd numbers.
But, for some strange reason, omit
Sec. 6, which reads as follows:
SEC 6. And be it further enacted,
That the lanlIs set apart and granted by
this act shall be subject to the disposal Of
the of the Legislature. of the several
States whsre,n the same are situate, for
the purposes in this act specified. Pro-
vided, that should the said road through
the State Of California not be completed
within years, from and after the pas
sage of this act, the said State shall be
bound to pay to the United States the net
amount which may have been received
from the sales of any part of said lands
by said State, the title remaining valid in
tina purchasers under such sales, and that
the title to the residue of such land grant
ed said State unsold, shall re-invest in and
revert to the United States; and the like
conditions and provisions are hereby
made applicable to the State or States
other than California, through which said
railroad and telegraph route may be loca-
ted."
Now isn't this beautiful! Here is a
bill providing that Congress donate to the
State Of California twenty miles on each
side of the road to be disposed Of by the
State in her discretion, Cat IL l-2 cents
the acre, if she please to aid in making
the road, and by the 18th section the rights
Of pre-emptors guaranteed, and the State
Journal says:
''It behoves the people to speak on this
subject now. 1t behoves the Legislature
to instruct our delegation in Congress to
oppose it first, last, and all the time. MIR.
McDougal is Chairman of the Select
Committee of the House Of Represen-
tatives, raised to consider the subject of
Pacific Railroad; and Mr. Gwin is Chair
man of like committee in the Senate.
Under the action they have already taken
in relation to these enormous grants of
land, we are sorry that this is so. Their
position will give them much influence,
and if they are disposed to use it for evil
as their bill seem to Indicate, our State
will have to suffer deeply No time
should be lost in counteracting, BY The
unanimous vote Of the Legislature, the
evil they have already done"
Times and Transcript.
Foul WoRK-The Santa Barbara cor
respondent of the San Francisco Herald
gives the following incidents which throw
light upon what must have been murder
most foul:
A gentleman riding up from San Buen-
aventura, when about half way to this
place, in a canada, to his great horror
saw n headless trunk. Immediately on
his arrival he reported the occurrence to
the authorities. The coroner being un-
well, G. r. V. Lee, Esq, Justice of the
Peace, summoned a jury, with whom he
proceeded to the spot indicated. he
clothes and size of the body led to the
almost certain belief that they we're the
remains of Frenchman who disappeared
about six weeks ago. He was last seen