The Placer herald., 1867-02-16
THE NECESSITY OF IMMIGRATION.

While much Las been said Of the ntce.si-
~ of additional capital to aid in the de.
veiorment Of our mineral and other MAJ
terial resources. the construction Of railroads,
and tie geuernl promotion Of the various
industries Of California, our most vital and
pressing want is perhaps, after sII, an in.
crease Of population. Without this, even il
capital w.,e TO seek our shores for invest
mtnt, We should hard. y be able 10 use much
Of j, to advan,age-certainly not 10 torn j..
to the mos, full and profitable account.
Without skilled labor in larger and more
steady supply, we could scarcely hope 10 en-
gage extensively in many branches Of manu-
featuring, even il We had a plethora Ct mon
ey furnished US from abrond. Neither could
it he expected that our railroads il built
would earn large profits without more peo
pie il the interior to create passenger traffic
and produce commodities for transportation,
~hil. the vas, bodies Of fertile lands would
have to remain unocul,i+d ard ,alueless, and
our mines unopened for tho same reason.
Production aud consumption are c"r,ela'lve
agencies. i, beiuc impossible for the one to
90 tn without The other, or for either to ex'
isl without population. From these are in
volvtd Ill the elements Of national enjoy
ment ard wealth. aud being in proportion
to the number Of inhabitants in n State, it
becomes the true policy of the political
sconomis, to fill the latter to its fullest ca
ta'i y for tie sustenance and employment
VI n wel.,o.do population.
How far Cnit,.nia comes short of accr m
LISTING this end ,nay TO Inferred from the
tac, tha, She has onI, about 100000 i"babi
ta,.t> upon An area greater than that OF the
whole Of England, Ireland aud Scotland
combined, sustaining population OF more
than 10000 600, or sx,y'eight times as
many as are contained in this State; whereas
if The advantages Of her geographical posi-
,ion, her genial climate, ex:en, OF a,atle land,
variety OF productions, her immense water
power and vast extent OF timber lands, her
mineral wealth ard other native resources,
he considered. there is no doub, but CaIifor-
MIA has greater natural capacities for tie
comfortable support of as large ropu|a-
as The United Kingdom of Crest Britain.
At present We have an average Of but
Ii to more than two Inhabitants 10 the
square mile of our territory, which reaches
nearly 10000 square miles, equivalent TO
l2O,U0O0OO of acres. II we divide this by
the number Of our presen! population, II
gives every soul in California over 272 acres
Of land; or estimating ,ha. but one-,llrd OF
cur domain is susceIiI le Of ready culture,
we have nearly ninety acres Of arabic land
for every man, woman and cli'd in this
State. 1t is therefore evident that we have
not only loom, hut that We are suffering
from an over~ helming necessity for an i'm.
mediate and continued increase Of popua'
ton, his being an indispensable prerequisite e
to more liberal .uppIy OF capital, to the
establishment of manufactures, the successful
prosecution of internal Improvements, and
an enlarged Development Of our mines. or
whatever else Of prosperity and progress ~s
are warranted in looking fur as individuals
or as State. Indeed, without this we
must remain about Na!ionary-our natural
increase Of population being nearly Offset by
tho 50 who die or remove from the State. 1t
is therefore Obvious that there can be no
great addition made TO our aggregate OF
production without a corresponding addition
to the total labor OF the country. With
population at its present figure, wealth can
n. accumulate, nor property advance rapid
" in value hereafter-w hiie improvements,
boil, public and private must move at slow
pace. With the addition of one hundred
thousand industrious Inhabitants. property
Of nearly every description, would speedily
appreciate largely throughout the S'a'e, and
il u shouli have the efltc. to reduce the
price Of labor somewhat, the cost Of all the
necessaries of life would At the same time be
!essened in a corresponding ratio. With an
accession of three times that number there
would sui lie employment for all, the av'
enues OF remunerative labor on this coast
being so broad and numerous that they can.
not for many years become crowded. II
any one branch Of industry he for the time
being ovtrdone, the mines present \ field
that cannot he exhausted or scarcely over
populated, their products always being in
demand at a fixed price the world over; or
The culture Of the grape, cotton, silk, tobac'
co, and other staples, having a mart nearly
as wde aud prize as stable, with Almost as
great faciilies Tor their production AS that
Of the pre-. ious metals themselves. may he
re.ol,ed TO-. Millions Of acres Of vneands
superior TO these OF Italy or France lie open
for entry at Government prices, While along
the banks and about the es,uaries It the
ri, ers. and throughout the great valleys of
the interior, are immense tracts suitable for
the Planting Of rice, tobacco and cotton.
Almost the entire western slope of the Sirr.
RI Nevada., an area fifty or sixty miles wide
by three or four hundred long, presents in
It's equabs and salubrious climate. its mag
nlfcsnt forests, extensive water power, and
,ich and varied soil-to say nothing of its
vast mineral wea,h-one Of the mos! At
traclive regions for settlement to be found
in the world. The foothills Of these noun.
tains are especially beautiful and well ADAPT
ed to the homes Of rural population. In
the Southern portions Of the State also are
large tracts OF excellent farming and grazing
lands, that, although mostly private proper
...a Ia ,,ur.,Loe .f reasonable rates--