The Placer herald., 1867-03-16


to the British House of Commons. The
voters in each borough being the town cri.
er, the town beadle, the town constable and
the town parson and his clerk. But the
Reformers taught the noble Duke new
lesson in political economy. They abolished
bis right to the political power he claimed;
and although that right was sold in the po'
litical market for money, ready money-for
ten thousands Of pounds-it was taken away
from the duke, and Why's Because it was
detrimental to the public welfare. So Of
those capitalists Of the Pacific coast. Ii they
desire any privilege detrimental TO the we'll
fare Of the people they must give way. They
cannot and shall not "do as they like with
their own"
And here wish TO say few words re.
specting capital and capitalists. What is
capital, and who are capitalists? Climate
and soil are capital; rivers and harbors are
capital; mines and forests are capital; men
and women are capital, These are the ee
ments of all capital, and wihou. these we
can have no capital. Now. to work these
elements up into exchangeable coin, or COM
modities that will be taken by other nations
the application of labor and skill there can
be little or no capital. Skilled labor, then,
is the master element in the formation Of
capital. 1t is the matrix Of capital. The
gas'Iight that burns before US Tonight comes
10 US from the sun. 1t is sunlight that was
absorbed by plants ages upon ages ago
turned by slow combustion and great
pressure into coal, from Which, by means Of
certain mauipualions, we get it here from
the gasometer in smoke, and i, kindles into
flame at our touch. So Of the fat of all .iv.
ing things; all fat and oil and forest trees is
sunlight slowed away among US for convent
ent use. Now, our capitalists are in like
manner the absorbents Of the labor of other
men; they gather it for public uses and for
public service. They all came t, California
some years ago, with little more than a small
carpet-bag apiece, and a few shirt collars
They were as poor and helpless as many of
you here to.night-glad to get any emy 10y,
meut. Some of these ground wheat into
-four, and became rich; others sold vegeta-
bes and fruit, and are now capitalists; others
sold whisky, and are now capitalists; others
carried packs of calico around and became
rich, and are now capitalists; others drove
ox-teams, took up city lots for nothing, and
are now Capitalists" others did smaller
things still, and absorbing the earnings Of
white men, became rich capitalists. But all
Of them dealt with the white laborers, and the
white mechanics selling 10 those laborers
their wares and their town lots, and thus
they became and now stand out as "lhe
Capitalists of Californian" who, forsoolb,
must have Chinese slaves Just as the early
settlers Of Virginia and Mary land encouraged
the slave trade in their day to cheaper and
humble labor, which, as you all know, has
brought about the bloodiest murders that
the pen Of human history records. To cheap
en- labor, to humble labor, to degrade labor
did the planters Of Virginia and The ship
owners of New England conspire and CO..,
operate to bring over cargoes of poor Afr
caus-dragged them by force from their ma
tive bills and sold them into perpetual
bondage. That vile, inhuman practice con.
,nued for century and half before the
great thinkers Of the Union, suug by the
reproaches Of monarchial Europe, accepted
the conviction that it was atrocious. And
to stop it, to suppress aud abolish it, cost
the lives of a million of the finest men that
ever trod upon the earth. and made widows
and orphans and mendicanls of many mil.
lions of helpless creatures. Look at the
South to-day; are they not starving from
one end Of it 10 the other. Whites and
blacks, all in one common mass Of mendi-
cancy. What has reduced them to this con,
dition9 What else than the original avrice,
ho oil af
planters, and Of the New England shi p. owner
We meet with the same avarice and pride
and vanity here to day. What interest de-
mands the lowering Of wages and the degra
da,ion Of the laborel! am, myself in the
position of capitalist. l have the charge
of eight hundred thousand dollars n gold.
| have done my best TO assist industry and
the local manufactures and shipping of the
city. have done my best to extend the
city itself on every hand by drawing capital
carefully to the aid Of house'buildng and
by it. l, for one don't see any necessity 10
lower wages, or to humble labor, or to in.
troduce Chinese labore,s. The money en-
trusted to me is the earnings of white labor
ers; many Of them, to my knowledge con.
template the purchase OF lots and the erec.
tion of houses for themselves and families 10
the healthy suburbs Of the city. Every per,
son who thus improves, gives good employ.
ment and ful! wages to dozen other per-
sons; and thus if we are not interfered with
by the threatened Tartar invasion, we will
60 on extending business and employment
on every hand, sustaining labor and au gment'
ing capital; but admit the Chinese to take
possession Of your vocations, labors and bust
ness and those who are now welded to Cali.
fornia, will soon change their mind, finding
they must go. Instead Of buying town lots
aud building new houses, they will begin TO
think Of packing up and leaving the State;
Of course they will carry of their gatherings
Of money and valuables, and so diminish tie
amount which, as banker, l shall be
able 10 offer those ttat remain. Other