Daily national Democrat., 1859-03-11
Hon. C. Il. Belongs Views OH the Usury
RiII.

| ask the reasoning and impartial mind to
reflect, and scan with me the past and pres
ent 10 our history. California, the youngest
of all our sister States possessing more OF
Natures favors than any other known coun-
try; with a fabled, unceasing and incompar~
able mineral wealth-outvieing even the
Biblical account of Ophir; with an agricul-
tural richness unsurpassed, with a climate
which grows the vine from Siskiyou to San
Diego, rivaling in its produetiveness and sa-
lubrity, the classic shores of Spain and Italy
with seaboard safe, expansive and commo-
dious, lying adjacent to the richest mart of
Eastern traffic known in the world with q
multitude of safe and commodious harbors,
which invite, and would seem by nature
fitted to command the entire commerce of the
Pacific ocean; with most beautiful inland
rivers and bays its means of canal and rail-
way improvement; settled at a recent period
by the enteiprisng, the speculative and har-
dy, the informed of all the world posses
sing all the these advantages of SOIL clplate.
commercial, mineral and agricultural wealth
together with the skill, science and expert
ence of all our sister States, and of all the
civilized and semi-ciyilized of the earth,
brought here by the sons of all States and of
all nations; with all these, | say, it would
seem that California should, indeed, even at
this day, stand foremost in every point of
view as q State she should be the most
thickly populated, the wealthiest, not
only in her Treasury, but in her internal i'm
proyements, in her commercial relations, and
all the public institutions of State industry,
education and science. Her people should
be more generally wealthy less bnrdened by
taxation, more enterprising and happy than
the people of any other State in the Union or
land of the world. Is this so? Let us con-
template California as she is AS State,
she stands to-day the poorest in the Union,
with depleted Treasury; lowering, but re-
Gently, upon the very verge of reputation; (;
not canal within her borders with but one
little small strip of railway, built upon bor-
rowed capital at three per cent, and strug-
Cling under their primary investment; her
rivers unimproved, and daily becoming OBJ
structed and rendered almost impossible by
the flood of debris turned into them ly tile
mining community covered and controlled
by huge manopolies, who defy alike compe-
tition and legislation with unimproved pub
lie highways, also controlled by monopoles
wearisome to the people and destructive to
their interest compelled yearly, in order to
meet even the current expenses Estate Gov
ernment, to levy and collect from her young
people the most eXorbitant and oppressive
amount of taxes; with untold mineral and
agricultural wealth unexposed and beyond
reach for the want of capital; when daily
from our shores pcurs forth, as it has CON
tinued to do from the commencement of our
States history, a tide of absolute golden
wealth that has served to enrich world,
whilst our State and her people people have
remained poor; without any but the most
tedious, dangerous and expensive means Of
intercommunication with our sister States,
and even that means controlled by one of the
most oppressive and wearisome mOnopoles
that has ever crushed the snews of any
States prosperty-so hinged in its monied
power that its influence is supposed by many
to be felt in its corruptng manner, even in
the halls of our National Legislature. Our
commerce is limited almost solely to our own
necessities of import and export, and must
thus continue so long as our improved har-
bors with their attending concomitant dis
advantages such as now attend every seaport
OF our State, continue in their present posi-
ton.