, 1862-12-30

By the tine this reaches you, the ''days Of
grace gifn to the rebels by President Lin
coin, in h{ emancipation proclamation will
have e1pied, and the question, whether he
will adhte to his policy, will have been
solved. california stands b5 the proclana-
tion, her pyal press, without exception, en-
dorses it. There is, however, great anxiety
expressed for fear Of q modification Of the
measure, or an extension Of the time, in
which th: shackles shall be stricken from the
slaves ofrebc1dom. Confidence in the firm
ness Of '|O1d Abe'' is generally felt, especial
y since te removal Of that prodigious stumb-
ling biloxi, Mcclellan. Telegraphic minors
Of PROPOSED armisticc, give rise to the fear
that an Appeal to the weaker side Of the Pres
ident my cause him to stay his hand for
season, md tins a1low JEFF Davis to make
further Iyies, and better prepare himself for
q renewd. Of the contest. We trust such will |
not be tie case, The Pacific slope is unit
now, in hyor Of emancipation and the most |
'yigorouf prosecution Of the war. While some
OF the Eastern St1tes seem to be taking |
baekWan step, the Great Westand the farther
Let thGe be sharp and decisive work. Let !
the Wathword be onward, and no compro-
mise with armed rebels.
Captain Reeds cavalry company, Of 100 |
men, recruited in this State, to be: mustered !
into seruce with the quota from Massachu-
sets, viii leaye for the seat Of war on the.
steamernf the 11th inst. 1t will probably be
The tine!t bbdy Of men in the service As it
has beer selected with great care from over
5GQappIca4ts.
tional Sanitary Committee continue to
pour in: The s500, 600 promised in one Of my
preceding letters, will soon be made up, and,
if necessary, as much more as can be had.
The ASSESSMENT for Ca]ifornia's portion of
the national tax, has nearly all been collected.
property; during the past year, has raised an
excess over the amount required Of over
s250,0W, which will be on hand for the next
iu6talment.
The year about closing has been one Of un-
exampled prosperity for this State Her agri-
cultural products have been immense, while
the discoveries in minerals have surpassed all
expectations. The mountains Of the Sierras
and coastrange seem to be not only lined
with gold and silver, but to be actually ttcop-
per. bottoned," for 1odes Of the hitter min
eral, not only in sulphurates and oxydes, but
in its natural state, have been traced. From
Del Norte to the Colorado more than 500 new
silver mines have been opened, during the
past year. Montgomery street Is filed with
eager spectators, armed with "specimens''
dltu A@Sh9E% EAuh 1lat5 Liz IlEuuCGS 1l E4EiT
mines. OF course all q them cannot be val:
uablc, but the daily sight Of dray loads Of
"silver b1icks'' and gold bars being carted
| from the mint, the banks, and the different
assay Offices, proves beyond question that
California is but just entering upon the de-
| yelopment Of her mineral wealth, and that
| the Dlacers were but the outcroppings Of the
| richer stores fast locked in her ancient noun
| tains.
| The stsuuny South'' will soon wake up to
the fact thai the free soil of the Pacific slope
can be made to yield large surplus Of those
slavery. The last legislature offered liberal
! premiums for the production Of various
| Southern staples. The premiums are in a
| fair way to be claimed the present season, as
fair samples Of cotton, rice, tobacco, turpen-
tine and rosin have been produced; in Fact
+ the pines on our hills have been ascertain
ed to be capable Of furnishing inexhaustible
quantities Of the two last named articles. A
mandatory is now established in Marysvillc
which turns out daily O. number Of barrels Of
each.
The passage Of the Pacific railroad bill has
given /: 1iew impetus 10 r;iroad enterprises in
This State; new projects are daily being pro-
nulgatcd, which, if they are carried out, will
give this State a It railroad system'' that will
leave but little room for other styles Of loco
motion. The great subject of contention is
tho proper route over the Sierra Sevadas, for
tile great Pacific Railroad. 1t has been quite
clearly demonstrated that the route selected
by the Central Pacific Railroad Company, o1
which Governor Stanford is President, and
which company is named in the act Of Con.
gross as tllc one to make the California con
lection, is certainly not the best, if it is moi
altogether impracticlb|e, as is claimed by
some. The able report Of the Engineer, Mr
Judah, demonstrates that a road can be bnilt
and probably kept open the year round, oyel
the route seeeted-the Truckce route; but il
| nko tha door, 1;na nf a7f; ;t.11t
Of 7,100 feet above the sea, where the diftlcn1
ties Of keeping the road open in winter vii
be immense. There are other practicable
routes claimed by their supporters to BIT
vastly snperior; one Of which, the "Beck
wourth Pnss'' route, isat least 800 feet lowe
: than the Truckce Pass, and entirely below tn,
line Of deep snow. It is asserted By those fl
| yorahle to the route selected, that no practica
BILE approach for a railroad can be found to tn
Beckwourth Pass; but this is denied by thos
l who are familiar with tue subject. ME. J. Z
Loyejoy, Il surveyor, who, few weeks since
carried Chain over most Of the route tlrougl
the Beckworth Pass, writes as follows to Ii
G MarysviIle appeal concerning it.:
re s to ygp h Se eoFeet GIdks oa o5
+ carried the chain, in company with two competeI
. | engineers aud others necessary in making prat
teal survey: From Carson City to TrncEee Rive
27 miles; from TrucIee to Beckwourth1B Pass, :
miles; from the Pass to Nelson's Point, IL miles
and from thence to Orori1le, about so mi1es-naI
E sRas ealson c and MIS- an Fs as
the Pea Vine lcvel-being entirely upon the Eas
ern Slope-and the greatest grade per mile to owe
gneat distance. The grade down the Feather Vi
Be about fifty feet to the mile. The cost of bull
ing the road will not exceed at aug point the grea
Of New England or Virginia, excepting the add
tiona cost Of frcightaSc. The snow on this rou
has rot exceeded, within the Past ten yeaTs, It :
tied snow. Imake these remarks, having had
knowledge Of the proposed route for ten year
and assisted in practical survey within the la
ron all the facts OF the case, but they will be la
before the public at tic ! proper season.
There is no doubt that this ronte is the only Of
practicable-the road costing from s., 600 0M
$a,M0, 900 less than any other proposed route. n
Helncss and other routes can never be kept OPT
during the winter months, on account Of the Eno'
All mountain men know this. T mean by 'tmou
tain men," those who havercsided upon the SUI
nit Of the sier1as, and witnessed the te.rlb
storms Of the past ten or twelve years. It will
well enough for valley editors and mountain SUI
mer visitors to talk about it, but We know that
feet Of snow. They may clear the track eve
hour and in another one it will be the same thi
to 50 over.
It is a matter Of great regret that Congre
did not provide that the. muniffcent grants al
donations made in aid Of this enterpri!
should be bestowed in such a manner as
secure the selection Of the route over mou
tains, best calculated to promote the commc
benefit Of the whole people. The action
our members of Congress in allowing th
1 subsidy to go into the control Of q sing
company, with no guarantee for the se1ectit
Of the best route, has been severely censure
if the error is not soon repaired, many OF O
most thonghtful men fear it will retard Il
completion Of the road for many years.
has been asserted in the public press that Il
Central Pacific Railroad Company" is co
trolled BY men who are largely interested in
projected wagon road over the TFackee rout
and that they desire to get Subscriptions
the stock Of the company SO as to compile
the first fifty miles Of the r:ilroad. and fro
the end Of that fifty miles to the Wash,
Mines all the freight and travel would pa
over the wagon road for the remainder Of Il
distance. The. stock holders in the railro
will have no interest IN the wagon roa
which, being owned rs private enterprise
the managers Of the railroad corporation, #
be one Of the most profitable franchises in Il
world, for at least five years, WhHe the mou
tain section Of the railroad Is being complete
as the tolls levied upon all the trade to al
from Washoe, and the major part Of the tra1
over the plains would be the source Of IN il
mense revenue. The publication Of this Fl
has had tendency to retard subscriptions
the stock of the Central Pacific Company,
fact outside Of Sacramento the subscriptio
hare been very light. At the approaching 81
sion Of the Legislature, provisions will
made for complete surrey, at the expense
the State, Of all the passes over the sierr.
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