San Andreas independent., 1857-02-07

Navigation monopoly. At the recent Pres
idential election, of the 110,223, votes
cast, the counties named polled, in the
aggregate, 74,085 votes, or more than
two-thirds of the whole number. Now
supposiug the number of white residents
to be thrice that of the votes in those coun-
ties, we should have population of 222.-
255 on whom would fall four-ffths (41s,-
760) of this onerous taxation, or about
Sl.o0 per head, while the remaining third
OF the whole population of the State,
comprised in half its counties, say 10S,-
Ala souls, would have per capitum of
only about SO cents. twill thus be seen
that it is upon the bone and sinew of our
State that this exaction is mainly placed,
and it becomes those who especially rep
resent the producing classes, in our halls
of legislation, duly to regard the fact, and
to labor assiduously that the iron rod of
monopoly may be broken, or wrested from
the oppressor's hand.
We may be met by the argument that
Notwithstanding the privilege accorded to
this Company to fix It's own rates however
extortionate they may be, private enterprise
is still left free to oppose it, to put prices
down at lower rate, and thus compel the
Company to come into a competition which
would result to the benefit of the public.
The argument is tenable, but the practical
results have heretofore been unsatisfac
tory So powerful has this monopoly be-
come, through the long career of extortion,
that private enterprise has thus far failed
to compete with it successfully. No
sooner does an Independent steamer ap-
pear on any of the waters of California.
than she is either bought off, or run off
by the opposing low charges In this man
ner have nearly all the steamers in our
State passed into the hands of this mon
ster company, while their officers, in many
instances, have been salaried to lie idle
their salaries, and the interest on the value
OF the idle steamers, of course coming out
of the pockets Of the public, drained from
them by the enormous rates of freight and
travel, imposed in the absence of compe-
tition.
Nor has the occasional opposition which
the company has met with, been of any
benefit to the people of a large portion Of
the counties named above To some of
the southern counties it has been an ac-
tual injury. As this opposition has been
(owing to the difficulties of navigation in
the San Joaquin) confined to the Sacra-
mento and its upper tributaries, it has di-
verted trade and travel from this direc-
ton. During brief period, when oppo-
sition on the Sacramento had reduced the
price of passage to 81 in the cabin, and
twenty-five cents on deck, the rates of 81
in the cabin, and s5 on deck, were still
maintained on the San Joaquin. This
inequality is unjust and oppressive to the
counties drained by the San Joaquin, i'm
posing as it does, an unequal and oppres-
sive taxation, while at the same time it
depriyes them of portion of business
they would otherwise enjoy.
In this connection we have said nothing
in regard to the large amount of property
held by the Steam Navigation Company,
on which there is literally no taxation.-
We find by the records of last year that
the assessed property of the company
amounted to but $500, 700, while tits noto-
rious that the paid in capital is nearly
s2,0O0,OOO. 1t does not appear, however,
that the associates show much alacrity in
paying the taxes on the comparatively
small amount assessed to them On the
18th February, last year, the taxes accru-
ing at San Francisco had not been paid,
and the same was the case in Yolo and
Sacramento counties. Whether or not
they have been paid to this day weare not
advised, but we perceive by the State and
county delinquent tax list of Sacramento
county, for the current year, that the COM
pany had not yet paid the taxes since ac-
cruing. This is a mammoth corporation,
however, and as is too often the case with
heavy landed proprietors, feel that they can
refuse compliance with the revenue laws
with comparative impunity. The poor
man, and the man of moderate means.
must face the music Of the tax collector,
and have his cabin or his few acres sold
before his face, to fulfill the requirements of
the law-but the millionare, oh no he
will contend for the unconstitutionality of
the law and bid defiance to it's fulflment.
for he possesses the means to contend and
the authorities are held at abeyance.
But we have insensibly extended our
remarks on this subject to greater length,
not than its Importance deserves, but than
we had intended at the outset. The mat
ter we hope is in good hands in our halls
of legislation, and the present session, we
trust, will not be brought to close without
numbering among its salutary enactments
a law which shall in effect say to the mon
ster of our age and State, "Thus far shall
you 90, and no farther.
Nor so PRoFANE AS THEY MEAN TO
BIN choosing their expletives, persons