Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1868-10-15
OUR MINERAL WEALTH.

OUh "6AA1o
One of the greatest sources of Eug- |
lands wealth is the product of her
mines, and with a just sense Of the
value Of this source TO her she has
steadfastly devoted herself to their full
development. In 1862 the official re-
turns of the mineral production Of the
whole kingdom gave u valuation Of
Sl7O, 900 900. But great IA was this
sum, and Importantly as it contributed
to English national wealth, it cannot
be doubted that the mineral production
of the loyal States alone in that year
equaled it in amount and in the ensu-
ing year a very low estimate for those
branches wherein the actual results
cannot be reached ut the moment, makes
it apparent that our production in those
States exceeded the British total by
Sl2, 900, 900 or SIS, OO0, 900. The differ
ence between the two countries is, that
the English mines are largely worked,
while mining with US is yet in its infan-
cy. 1t has been estimated that the pre-
cious metals alone, in which m soil is
peculiarly rich, cover q superficial area
Of one million square miles. Hittell
has estimated the production Of gold in
California between lS4s and 1862, in
elusive, at 1874, o00, 900, while the Bank
err, Magazine places it at over $780,
900, 900 for the same period. That
State now produces, it is believed S44,-
900 900 in gold annually, and the whole
mineral production probably reaches
SEQ, oo0, 900, if we take into considera-
ton the large amount Of treasure that
finds its way out Of the State through
unknown channels. The Custom House
records ut San Francisco are by no
means to be taken as q good criterion
without certain other aids to approx
nation. The gold and silver product
Of the entire country in 1864, was set
down at Sl25, 900, 900. These valuable
metals passively lie beneath the soil
throughout the boundless West, in the
very regions traversed by that magnif-
cent achievement Of American enter
prise and indomitability, the Pacific
Railroad-spanniug u continent and
grasping the m of the world.
The Commissioners of the General
Land Office, as far back as 1862, off.
cially said of the auriferous section
west of the Mississippi, that the yield of
the precious metals alone in that region
would not be less than one hundred
millions that year, and that it will in
crease with augmented population for
centuries to come. It was his deliberate
opinion, based upon reliable data, that
by 1872, the value Of our whole produc-
ton of gold, silver, iron, coal, tin, lead,
copper and quicksilver, will reach quite
$500, ooO, 900. These are high figures,
but present results bear out the esti-
mate. With the unprecedented devel-
opment that may be expected from
the opening year of the Pacific Railroad,
it is rational to believe that they will
be even largely exceeded. The same
authority afirms that, if an amount of
labor relatively equal to that applied in
California, was expended on all the re-
naming gold fields outside of that State,
the production for that year (lsG2)
would exceed $500, OOo, 900.
Mining all over the loyal country
steadily went forward, even under the
pressing discouragements of the war /;
and the official reports from all quarters,
up to recent dates, give manifestation
Of o fresh impetus impaired to develop
ment in both new and old localities.
With the illimitable deposits that have
long been locked up on the Pacific
slope for want of requisite facilities, but
now to be opened up To capital and in
dustry, we may confidently look forward
to an era Of mineral production every
where within our borders, that will sur
pass the expectations of even the most
sauguinc, and contribute, in an une-
qualed manner, to the augmentation Of
the national wealth. 1t is no exaggera-
ton to say, that five years hence that
production will attain $500, 900, 900 per
annum, with. u steady increase on a
large scale. But this estimate is pre-
dicted on past ratios Of increase, and
oil such must prove useless for pur-
poses of computation from the moment
that through communication is estab-
lished between New York and San
Francisco, and the route thrown open
to commerce, because they will then be
greatly outstripped. From that moment
n new scale Of general wealth-increase
will be established.
Cocks CRowIxG.-The Democratic
paper in Virginia City, The Safeguard,
this morning came out in a jubilan:
~art;cIe over the reanlt of tho elections