Oroville daily Butte record., 1857-11-14
The pitch Owner. Convention.

With desire to give our readers an op-
portunity to view both sides of the question,
we take great pleasure in giving q place in
our columns to the following communication
from one of the prominent members of the
Ditch Owners Convention, in reply to an ar
ticle upon its acts which appeared in our
issue of the Ilth inst:
EDITOR BUTTE RECORD:
DEAR SrR-The aluson. in your leader
of the llth inst, to the action of the conven-
tion of ditch owners, held at Sacramento on
the 4th and 5th inst, seems to me to be vir-
tualy an impeachment Of the policy advocat-
ed by that body, of which myself was a
member.
The independent and impartial tone which
has usually characterized your paper, leads
me to believe that your criticisms upon the
bill submittedby tho convention for the ap-
proval of our legislature, and for the adop-
ton of Congress, are but hasty deductions
from partial reading. The error into
which you have fallen is so obvious, that
your most casual readers must perceive it.
OF the several aggressions upon mining asa-
ges which you impute to the convention,
will notice only two or three. You charge
it with "agitating" the mineral land ques-
tion "for the purpose cf changing what has
been the settled policy of the government"
The convention asks no change, nor can the
charge be sustained by anything that is con-
tanned in the preamble and resolutions in
the bill submitted, or that was spoken in
open convention. Again you charge, in
speaking of the convention, that "real
question is,shall there be any grants,to indi-
viduals, of the mineral lands of this State :"
This too, Sir, is an allegation for which there
is no authority, in the proceedings of the
convention, nor has it any sanction in the
policy advocated by the convention. We
who composed that body, Sir, ask not for
one foot of land we want no exclusive priv
ileges; we contemplate no encroachments
upon private rights, or mining usages. We
which we now enjoy, by the rulings of our
Supreme Court, with the approval Of our
legislature, and with the sanction of every
enlightened and public spirited citizen, and
by sutferance on the part Of the general
government, viz: to convey water over the
public lands, in ditches, canals and fumes,
and that we may have reservoir privileges,
and such timber and other material as may
be necessary for constructing and carrying
ON such works, be sanctioned by Congress,
and so established by law, that it cannot be
vitiated by counter judicial decisions, or set
aside by adverse legislation. We ask this,
Sir, on behalf of ourselves. and in behalf of
thirty thousand miners within our bounda-
ries who have no profitable field for their
labors; we ask it in behalf of justice, and Of
the welfare of California; we ask it in be-
half of the generous and enlightened policy
for which our government is so distin-
guished.
Again, Mr.. Editor, you say that the bill
is '.too loosely drawn" that the form of
the bill as it is now presented is Of no mo-
ment" | admit, Sir, that it would not full
fill the purposes to which you have SO erro-
neously appropriated it; but allow me to say,
with due Difference to your opinion, that it
is quite sufficient for the objects of the con-
venton.
cannot presume further upon your ndul-
gence; you doubtless think me frank, per-
haps uncourteous, but had | said less, could
but regard myself as untrue to the best in
terests of my adopted State.
In conclusion allow me to say, that belev-
ing as do, that your motive has been less
to mpeach and to censure than to elicit free
and impartial investigation, and that you
are not less generous than precipitate, | en-
tertain reasonable hope that you will show
your readers both sides Of the question un-
dec consideration, and that this communi-
cation will have place in your columns.
With much regard,
AUGUSTUS.