The weekly Columbian., 1857-02-21

experiment did not exhaust the measure
of retribution. Now comes-worse al
most than Observation-Disclosures and
California exhibits to the world not only
a people whose virtue is shown in their
contempt of law, but people among
whom it is Justice and honor to defraud
honest creditors of their due.
We say lis Judgement righteous
judgment. California may make what
amends she can, and pay principal and
interest at some future day. But she
cannot wipe the stain from her annals
She cannot obliterate from mems memo
ries the damn;ng fact that her people are
SO unfit to exercise the duty OF self-gov-
ernment that they elect magistrates who
violate the laws, and who use the high
and honorable name of the State, by the
authority of the people, for the purpose
ofswindling the public. These are things
which are remembered. For genera
ton, at least, the Californians will lie un-
der a stigma and reproach. Men will be
shy of them, and cool to them. Not that
they have shown themselves any more
dishonest or less honorable than their
neighbors, but because they have given
evidence of SO little sagacity, and so much
recklessness that one never can be GER
tain that their elected agents are not pro-
fessional knaves. What has been done,
may be repeated. Future creditors of
California can never be certain that the
parties with whom they contract-how-
ever high their Office and large their es-
TEEN in their State-are not violating the
law and defrauding their constituents
and their creditors together.
PRoJEcTED CANAL IN THE TULARE
CoUNTY.-A project, often talked of in
former years, has recently been revived,
as to which the Sacramento City Item
says:
1t is proposed to construct a canal to
connect the waters of Tule Lake and the
San Joaquin river, for the purpose of es-
tablishing steamboat communication be-
tween that point and Stockton. The
population of that portion of the State is
increasing rapidly, by both farmers set
Ting in the valley and miners in the
mountains. All store goods are at pres
ent supplied from Stockton, by ten
days journey with mules or oxen. There
have been at various times five different
steamboat excursions up the San Joa-
quin as far as the mouth of the Tulare
Slough, which is some three hundred
miles by the river above Stockton, and
about twenty-five miles below Fort Mil
ler. The first of these trips was made in
81 or so, and the last in March, SO, by
the Kate Bateman, in the height of the
Kern river excitement.
The difficulties in the way of navigat-
ing the river are: the great distance, the
river being very crooked, and the low
water through great portion of the year.
The proposed canal is designed to obvi-
ate the last and greatest of these difficult
ties. 1t is purposed to turn the waters of
Kings river into the channel of the San
Joaquin, which will make the volume in
the latter stream almost double its present
quantity. 1t is also purposed to obtain
from the Legislature grant of swamp
lands for the construction of the proposed
work, the most Of which will be drained
and made valuable by the canal itself.
The work is an important one, and at
some future period will unquestionably
be accomplished.
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