The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-02-22
Taxing Mining Claims.

that body, to tax mining claims. Since
its introduction it has occupied no little OF
public attention and elected discussion
= Throughout the State. Some over-zealous
patriots" have stated that the miners are
not only willing but anxious to have their
claims taxed, in order to contribute their
mite to support the war. This may be
true, but we must be excused for doubling
its correctness. We have converscd with
number lately on the subject, and they
all, without an exception, expressed their
decided opposition to it. Some Republi-
can miners, to maintain their standing
with their party, may favor it and sustain
it us a purity measure, but a majority of
them, we believe, condemn it.
The agricultural counties and the large
cities, of course, are anxious to adopt any
system Of raising revenue, in these hard
times, which will relieve them from that
which they enormously regard as requ-
g., ring from them an unequal contribution
towards the support Of the Government
But the people Of the mines, who have the
best means of Judging, oppose any at.
tempt to collect revenue by the assess
ment Of mining claims-and We think they
are right. The only value a mining claim
has. as is well knnNp, coasia&e i"4ltr 73;a.,s
! it contains; frrry OuHce NJ goM taken
,Ti'om IL rt0(ly rerItrs Il w0rM one ounce
/ less. This important fact the friends Of Ma
clay's bill seem to br ignorant Of or over
look. No man in the mines but is aware OF
the impossibiity Of placing anything APP
preaching fixed value upon his claim
No old miner but has had his hopes blasted,
and found the claim that on Yesterday he
would have informed the Assessor he
would not take $1,000 for, is to-day unprO-
ductive and Of course valueless, and has
cost him months Of toll and hardship, and
in some instances prvation and danger
especially in tunnel mining, the most uo-
certain Of all pursuits. Here, the uDccr-
tainty Of the result of all mining enter
prises is understood and appreciated. Call
the miners claim his property, if you
will, but it is property whose value he or
no other man knows; and whether it be.
comes renunerativr or not, depends not
mainly upon hi, labor. This week it may
yield handsomely, next week nothing at
all
The Assessor places his valuation upon
the farm, because he can see its worth
it, iruIt-bcariug trees, its growing crops :;
and knows what it has produced it will,
by the same cultivation, produce again. -
y luXuriant crop gathered from it in
crcascs its value, the gold taken from a
mining claim decreases its value. The
one is certain and lasting, tie other W.
certain and soon worked out. l. not this
So: Thousands of claims that were once
rich have been worked out and are now
. worthless ard abandoned. Place the As
SCISSOR upon any description Of mining
claim, let him make all possible inquiry
aud obtain all the information il, posse>Sor
has Of It's value. He viii learn that for
months past it has Welded given sum,
which stun Is t!rreup6a carefully noted
by the Assessor and dsU Nscd, and the tax
checriully paid. He inquiries what it is
worth now; the only sensible reply is,
don't know ! may lose the lead to-
morrow, and it will then DC Of no valut.
\ mans crops may fail, but bis land re-
mains.
Our State Constitution declares that
"Taxati"n shall be equal aud uniform
Throughout the state. Al property IN this
State shall be taxed III pr"I."Itlon t. is value,
L. b. estimated as dIeCt,d OI law.
How are we to ascertain the value Of a
thing 80 uncertain aS a lnnng claim, and
levy tax upon it in proportion 10 its
value: The attempt to tax mining
claims will undoubtedly lead to most fire.
qucnt violations Of the very spirit Of the
Constitution. GneYnai tdration will Ger
tainly result, and in nnmberle>> Instances
it Will be found that the miner has been
Compelled to pay heavily for that which
he had not-a minihg claim IF rdiue.
But the miner now pays taxes on all
things. He pays the merchants taxes,
for the merchant charges him for them +;
in his bill for the goods he sells the miner
he adds the amount Of his taxes in the
placed upon every article he buys. The
miner has no ole to fall back upon; fFogR
him comes the wealth that builds cities
and enricheS those engaged in other and
less laborious and precarious pursuits
lie Is tie great producer IF Cdlit0rhid-
the farmer, merchant and mechanic are
dependent upon him.
<The politicians and residents OF cities
have an erroneous impression with respect
to the mines. They believe, or profess to
believe, that they are as rich as when
first discovered, and inexhaustble. Mr..
Shafter, the Republican Senator from San
Francisco, in objecting to the phraseology
of Mr. Gallaghcr's preamble, in which it
was stated that "rhe mineral lands of
California are becoming exhausted, and
the business of mining is prccarous and
uncertain" said:
"There was one statement in the resolution
which he did not believe To be true. II declared
that the mines had given out, and that mining
was more precariUus at present than at any
time past. lie did nat btiiece It., nor that any
evidence existed in favor Of that proposition
here or anywhere else"
II is evident that he knows nothing