New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-02
CALIFORNIA.
PROPOSED SALE OF THE MINERAL
LANDS OF CALIFORNIA.
From Our Own ConespoDier-.

soon,r this ssl,. be efecrel t1e better for ia,
miners he better for Cali)ra.a tae be- n for thn
Toion. The benefits u resnlt iron the ,ale are ~
GREAT that the present Congress should take some
decisive seton upon the matter; aDi | appeal 10
Won. NJ. Editor Ia use y0'r Influence u h"e an
;rou;rv ,uSde. If the National Legislature cannot
Be- induced 10 take decisive action mmed''iely.
In F.bruary last addressed a ljug letter n YOU
(publ,d IL THE DAILY TRIBuNE Of M'T'h ~
in ybi,h erd,ayored Ia shos that the maiu e'is
Of ,be uotoriou.y uusound society and business OF
CsIoruit srr owing 10 the Insecure ltnd ui'''i
,rd chiefly the insecure titles To the mining lsnds'
which are the home OF the most oi cur p"puiill'n;
| ,h.ll now briefly rrcapituin'e the po-lt"n' l
then tool in regard 10 the evils eau ed by the ten
ani.st-Till system.
First: The miners have no right of property, put
orI, r;obt cf possession; ard thst depends on the
mining laws" ot the sever ! districts adopted oy
the msiority OF votes-that majority usdal'! o"ing
composed of men With poor claims, ar none 81 a'''
and not utcrdlng to make their homes ID me ''r'
Second: The claims are made small by N" clam
les. many. and are soon worked out, and the
miners then have to travel in search oi new paceS'
10 work
Tbira: The miners work so as to get as much ~
nossiblr cut Of their claims IN briet time, often
allowing large portion of the gold to 90 to waste.
Fourih: As their claims are small, and they must
often move. they do not make comfortable homes.
The dwellings in the mines are mostly shahlles'
and gardens are comparatively rare.
FIfh: As comfortable homes are rare, so are
families. Miners do not bring their wives tn Calf
fornia. or send them back. the proportion ot
adult white women 10 adult white men IN the
mir es j. one ~ seven.
S;riL: The scarcity of women leads the few
who are here iuto great temptation causes the
breaking up Of many families, and brings many
loose women to the State.
Ser6nh: As families are scarce. 81 are children,
and schools are dear aud poor ard scarce
Fighfh: As iamilies few aud society unsta-
be and men fat servant girls are exposed Ia miny
trials end must have enormous wages to compensate
them for their risks in coming here.
Ninth: The miner. owning nothing, is apt To
spend most of his time roaming about prospecting
Tmh The miners, being alone, and having no
one t. care for and no one to watch theiu are
dssipatcd and improvdrnt.
Tkrfnth: Society made up of Domad miners,
lacks tone, and popular opinion has little power to
support morality.
Trolfh: As most of the people are merely so
iOurners here. ard AZ the comforts If home are
wanting every body is anx;ous Ia get away as soon
as possible, aud, in hs anxiety, ls apt to manage
his business in rash, makr-or-break manner. The
consequence is numerous bankruptcies.
Thirtcsnh: As the people do not own the land,
they cannot afford to make turnpikes and railroads.
fourteenth: As the miners have only small claims,
which will soon BE- worked out, they cannot Afford
to hire lsbcrers, and poor men coming here cannot
get employment, and find difficult TO nasea start.
Fifteenth: As roads are not made, the land does
not rlse in value.
Sirte,nth The gold dug from the mines does
not enrich the State, but is all sent away 10 be n
vested elsewhere,
Serentsenth IA there are not permanent titles,
capitalists are afraid To invest money in great enter.
prises v hich would probably pay enormous profits
in the course Of a few years, but for whch there
could be no security, good titles tn the lands.
Eighieenh The State cannot tax the land, aud
the expenses of the mining counties have to be
borne to . considerable extent by most unjust
taxes on the helpless and iriendess Cbinamen. aud
by taxes on the industry not the capital, Of the
Americans.
NiRet,enM: Three fourihs OF the Americans in
California do not intend in consequence of these
evils 10 make their permanent homes here.
VIII anybody deny that these evils exist
think not. Can they b. traced 10 any other cause
than the want of secure titles to the land Not 10
tie insecurity of mining as a business, surely; tor
il is nearly secure any other business IN the
State: and the insecurity which II has Is chiefly
owing to the improper and improvdeDt msnner IN
which it is managed; and this impr0yidence is
caused by the unsettled condition of the miners ani
the uosteadimcss of business. am satisfied that
with permanent population and secure titles,
mining would be Just As safe business as uanut1c-
turing or merchandising generally is in the E1 tern
states. There will be risks 70 run, hut the indus
trious, prudent man viii always make both ends
meet. But If the uncertainty Of mining had much
influence 10 cause the evils above referred to- still
California Las advantages over her sister states
which ought to 60 far to counterbalance tnat un-
IL.
TIE COST always cool and never cUld; in the n-
rior tie Summers of New.York and the Winters of
of Moth Carolina: 80 that the orange aud lemon,
The tg and the olive, the vine snd the peach cot
ton, rice and tobacco, wheat aud barley all grow
as wei here, and perhaps better than in any ot1er
part OF tie earth. The profits Of labor and busi-
ness are greater here than IA any other country. The
people. ms whole, are the mos; Intelligent com
muuIiy in the world. Our soil is unparalleled in
It's riches; and tie wealth il more evenly divided
than IN any oth,r land We have produced thrice
asnucb, and spent thrice AZ much per man, dur
llll the last ten wears, as any other people; AMI
yet nj this very moment, California, ~ its i'm.
proScmeLts. is toe poorest. and our society the
most unhappy of all the States IN the Union.
The remedy is the sale Of the mining lands
From the moment that IL is known they viii he
sold, Cal tornia's regeneration will begin. Cali
iornian5 will then deternpne TO make this their
PERMANENT nome; money VII be savtd: and -.
the tine "t sale every man vii seek {, become
owner OF tract OF mining land, which shalt en-.
rich himself aud his children. After the sale.
ti'l's beng secure, comfortable houses will be
tult, wives wil be sent for. mining viii be- con.
Quoted ecoDouically end steadily claims will be
worked which now will not pay. oar popul,tion
viii Increase, and so will the yield of our mines.
ihe capital produced here Will be returned. othe,
capital VIII come from abroad to Obtain secgre in.
q y far s4ts.
sbroad, viii always obtain employment. ana tbns
can eet Il start; railroad, and turnpike, will be-
ade; snd will rise in value; th- state viii ob,njn
lis reyerve honorably by the taxation of capital.
s"ele'. VIII become permanent. and public opinion
Powerful; diss patton will dnipieh; and C,ljior.