San Andreas independent., 1857-11-14
Taxing Mining Claims.

uuoo no revenue Tor the support OF gov
eminent. We consider this position is
taken from misapprehension of the true
state of the case in the mines the diff
Guilty of finding paying claims-the un-
certainty of mining as an occupation
the loss of time by want of water in some
localities-by too much in others-the
general disadvantage under which miners
are compelled to labor-as general rule,
being idle necessarily one half of the
year, and the all-important fact that while
they are producing millions of dollars
which pass off and form the circulating
medium of the world for the benefit of
trade aud commerce, they retain and are
possessed of u mere fraction to themselves.
We go upon the principle that persons
should pay tax upon that which they
have; not their wealth in prospective ;
not what they may expect their future Ia
Dor to produce for them The merchant
Is taxed on his goods, and the money he
has ON hand; not the profits that he may
expect to make during the year by the
employment of his labor and time The
farmer pays taxes on his farm, the i'm
provements on the same, the live stock
he may be possessed of, but not upon the
value of his future crop, the increase of
his stock, nor the increased value which
he, by his industry, may add to his
property in shape Of improvements, be-
cause it is prospective property, of
which he may never be possessed; and
no person would expect him to pay taxes
upon it. Yet, this is the very principle
that would be established in taxing mi
ming claims. The miner takes upa claim !;
of its value he knows nothing; still, it
may be called property; and upon it he
puts his labor, and by that labor echausts
the so-called property, and receives in re-
turn more or less gold In this gold the
miner is possessed of a real and substan-
tial property, and upon it the revenue
laws of the State require that he should
pay tax, the same as any other property
is taxed. But, in taxing mining claims,
it is nothing more or less than levying a
tax in advance upon the value of mi
ner's labor, without knowing what that
labor will produce. Four-ffths of the
miners are without claims, or possessed
of claims that will pay no more than mere
wages, the generality of which claims
will last one, two, three or four months
During this time the miner will make
three or four dollars per day, perhaps a
little more or little less Now, we ask,
in all sincerity, is it right that he should
pay tax upon such property, the value
Of which can only be ascertained after
the labor is performed labor in fact,
being the producing quality? 1t would
certainly be more equitable and just to
levy tax upon the clerks yearly salary
in advance of his earning it, as in this
case the amount could be ascertained,
while in the case of the miner it cannot.
If mining claims were reproductive
in their nature if they furnished their
crop of gold annually as the farm produ-
ces its yearly crop of grain by tillage, no
objection whatever could be urged against
the principle of taxing claims. Or, if
they were lasting-that the miner once
obtaining claim, could make sure of
one or two years work without a remove,
he could well afford to pay a percentage
tax. But such is far from being the case,
as every one who is in the least acquainted
with mining operations, is well aware
We are willing to admit there are claims,
the owners of which could we'll afford to
pay a tax; but whether it would be poll
tic or proper to make them do so, we have
our doubts, as it would be difficult mat
ter to draw the distinction. We know
the accounts given of big strikes
sound well; we know that the millions
sent from the mines figure up largely,
and look astonishingly well on paper
But it should be borne in mind, that al
though it was dug out by the miner and
once owned by him, it has passed from
his hands for the purchase of the neces-
saries of life, and has added to the profits
of the merchant, the trader and the far
mer; the class who pay the taxes, and
who, from the fact of their owning the
property and produced wealth of the
country, are better able to pay them.
Tables have been exhibited, showing
that the agricultural counties pay more
into the State Treasury than the mining
counties. We give one of the tables,