The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1858-04-01
Morals Of CniIEnrnin.

a letterwrlter from California, after speaking
Of the low standard of public morals in that
State, in general terms, says:
"What are these evilS1 shall endeayor IN
state them briefly. They ore, as compared with
the total population, very few families in the
State. Among those few there isa large pro-
portion of divorces and other domestic troubles.
There are many seductions. A large proportion
of the populat ton do not intend 90 make t,eir
permauent hotnes here. Many married men
now in California have their wives and families
IN the Eastern States and do not wish them TO
come hither Many Of the unmarried men do
not wish 10 marry here. The inhabitants Of the
mines, as class, are constantly moving about
from place to place. The people are generally eA-
lraviSant aud improvideut Less regard is paid
TO reputation and the useful Couyentionalitiea
of society than elsewhere. There are many
bloody uflrays. And there are compartiveiy
few good houses, comfortable homes or substau-
tial improvements ofOny kind. /, is impossi.
BILE to know or describe the exact exten; of
these evils, but that they do exist, and to
greater extent than in any other State Of tho
American Unon,is not and will not be denied
by any impartial aud intelligent man who has
seen much of California
! These evils trace up, mNdatcly and imms-
diately, to one great cause the want of sicufo
land titles This want annually dives awav
thousands Of men who would Otherwise make
their homes here, renders tho country mere
resort for spectators, and hiding place for
scoundrels from all parts Of the civilized world
makes business wild, half crazy speculation.
by driving men to try their luck at the game of
moke OF break prevents miners from working
tor moderate aud reasonable wages, impels them
To spend their Time IN prospecting or idleness
ii they have not rich claim, aud renders tho
State mere place ot sojoun-uot home--tor
its nhabitants
,tc Of l.. -
errors IN tho people and in the la " makers Too
many OF the people had come here as mere ad-
venturcrs, intending to leave in few years, and
hoStie to ony policy which whonld colnpel
them to become owners of the soil to obtain
subsistence or which would interfere with
the immediate profit o. carrying away the wealth
OF the State The aw-makers on their part
were demagogucs, and lacking in the straph-
forward honesty which is 50 important to sue
cess in most human schemes. The curse OF in.
secure titles in So Tar Rs the agrCu tural districts
are concerned, is being slowly removed by tho
settlement of the M-xican land claims in the
courts, but il still bears with all its weight up
on the mining Districts"
According to the following statements of .he
same writer, California is The place for women to
emigrate to;
"The wandering character Of the population,
ana the want OF permanent aud comfortable
, homes, renders the mines an unsuitable place of
residence for families. There Ire few women in
; the mines, and of these few considerable sha 10
OF them are neither maids wives nor Widows
+ The general proportion OF adult men 10 adult wo-
Z men, throughout the mining districts are prob
ably not less than seven TO one, and to married
women, eight to one. The editor of the Placer. q.
vile American guessed, couple of months since,
Q that there were seven men to one woman in lei
/ Dorado, the Oldest mining county in the State.
the easiest Of access from San Francisco and
Sacramento, with rail way running from The
latter city to its border. | happen to have Just
now before me letter written from Empire
= Rancho, 0mining village in Yuba County. TWEEN
ty miles from Marysville. The writer says. the
entire populatio of the place is 800, with 100
u voters and 20 families, or eight voters to one
t married woman. The Jackson Sentinel of The
l3h inst, say that there are 400 inhabitants, in
I Guiding 30 families, in the town of Loncha Pia-
! ma, In Amandor County, According to the re-
u port of the County Assessor of Siskiyou County,
Tor 1857, there are in that county $500 men and
t 700 women, or more than nine to one