Oroville daily Butte record., 1857-11-19
The Ditch Owners Convention.


itcontemplates. We also, are forced to en-.
tertain such opinions. Granting that every
one Oh the handful of men who composed the
convention is as fair, conscientious and hon.
est as we believe our correspondent +" Angus
tus" to DO, and however willing We should
be to have the privileges which are guaran-
tied by that bill, given to him, and such as
he; and granting that tn e bill was conceived
in good faith, and as he says, "that it is
quite sufficient for the objects of the con.
vention," yet should We be unwilling to see
it made law, capable as we believe it would
be OF misapplication by scheming and un,
principled speculatoTs and monopolsts
We repeat that We consider the bill "too
loosely drawn y and to be moro specific in
our objections. we will allude to parts of the
bill which strike " as being dangerously
loose
Tse tirst clause is for the grant of "the
right of way for any and evcry line of ditch
canal or fume constructed for mining pur.
poses, over the public lands in California"
and in our correspondent Augustus I"
communication upon the subject, he says,
"We ask this, sir, in behalf of ourselves,
and in behalf of thirty thousand miners
who have no profitable field for their la
bors," SC from which we are assured of
what we already surmised. that the grants
sought for are TO oe located ON mineral lands
regarding every foot of the hills and
mountains as such. Now, with the fact be.
fore us, that not single law has been en-
acted by the General Government, applying
to the holding of mining privileges, and in-
deed ignoring the, policy of legislation ny
either the State or General Government for
the regulation of snch privileges, We shall
certainly protest against legislation being
commenced for parties, whose right, if any.
to the mineral lands, issecondary to that of
the miners themselves Ii greats of mineral
lands are to be made, let them, be made to
actual miners for mining purposes; and then.
as snbservient to the miners rights, let the
owners of bitches be secured in theirs.
The second section of the bill in question.
asks of the General Government, the entire
REIMBURSEMENT Other riparian rights to tho
ditch owners, which cession. were it made.
would give a clear title in fee to said ditch
owners Of every drop of water in the noun.
tain. streams. The. bare chance that this,
lastsection gives for endless trouble between
the miners aud the ditch men, is enough in
itself to condemn it.
Taking into consideration the fact that the
miners right to work ON the lands is secured
to him but by the most precari iousof all laws
the law of suferaace--we are exceeding
10th to see the question of his title agitated,
even in the remotest degree, and shall ever
oppose legislation even for the miners. 6ene-.
fit, adheripg to the creed, set forth in that,
good old aphorism, - let we'll enough alone;".
much more. earnestly shall we always op-.
pose anything that smacks of interference
with the uncertain tenure of his present.
claims upon the gold bearing soil.
Pass the bill drawn up by the Ditch, Own
ers, and every man who fells tree ON the
hillsides, every prospector who delves in
quartz. lode, or sinks his pick into the gravel
bank contiguous to those visible or invisible
ditch lines, whose "Yight,of way" is SO clear
ly defined, and how soon may not oil these
be proved'trespassers upon the soil sacred to
the self styled ditch owner''' Where lie
there foot of mountain side that would not
be claimabls under the law that should give,
90 the use of timber and other materials ne
cessary to the carrying on and construction
of such work." to the speculator who stakes
out his metes and bounds for q chimerical
water course? Whatever may be the object
of that convention, and taking the charac-
ter of our col respondent as criterion, we
should deem it an entirely honest ope,---Hs
are forced to the conclusion, that the hill, the
passage of which they solicit at the hands of
Congress. would be the irst death, blow to
the miners dearest rights, and would pave
the way for the final occupancy of fevery foot
of our gold fields, by the speculator, the
foreign capitalist and the professional land.
grabber.
LA FAYETTE's RIRTHpAY. In noticing the,
receipt of Mr.. Latham's grafton in San Fran
cisco, at the celebration Of of,Lafayette's births