New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-06-09
PROGRESS oP CALIFORNIA.

PROGRESS OF CALIFORNIA.
While New Orleans has been unhappily
involved in civil war, and in those conse-
quences which have divided her popula-
ton as hostile camps, the State of Cali
fornia has been the scene of an unparal-
leled progress. 1t was three hundred years
after the occupation Of this province by
the Spaniards that it fell into the hands
of the Americans. A population of a
hundred thousand has been increased to
something less than million, and sys-
tenn of cattle ranches and coast villages
has been superseded by an astonishing
development OF resources and production.
We propose to offer few items of this
extraordinary result in 1876: Gold and
silver yield, s95,OOO,OOO; wheat and
-four exported, 100000 bushels; wool,
Sc, 551, 900 pounds; wine product, 10000
600 gallons; value of manufactures, s45,-
100000. Omitting lumber, fruits, silk,
quicksilver, ETC., this perhaps shows an
annual product of 5000, 600, 600. The net
result of this is shown by the deposit of
nearly $722, 1000, 0OOIin the savings banks
and State banking capital of $500, O0O,-
000 There are some items in this annual
statement of California progress which
should, we think, attract the attention of
those who have SO empirically asserted
that railroads should be left to build
themselves. The tonnage movement of
the Central Pacific railroad in 1876 was
1888, 047, $50 pounds, or just about l, OOO,-
900 tons and little more than all the tons
moved on the Mississippi river at New
Orleans. 1t would seem that road
trayersing such grades and overcoming
such heights, comparing in actual tons
moved with the mighty Mississippi, would
attract the attention of any New Orleans
property holder as means of adding to
the Mississippi river another iron tribu-
tary. The travel movement by rail is not
shown, but balance is struck in favor of
immigration Of more than $4,000 in the
past year. Those who regard the value
of imports as q criterion of prosperity,
may not be surprised to learn that the
combined exports of all articles amounted
last year to Ss1, O94, 92S, a sum less, per-
haps, than the value of those articles ex-
ported from New Orleans. The foreign
imports were 1853, O18, or more than
three times that of the port of New Or
leans.
We note the effect of the repeal of the
duty on sugar and rice, the growth and
product of the Sandwich Islands. The
imports of sugar in 1875 were 6s,093, 591
pounds, of which 21,171, 1873 pounds
were from the Sandwich Islands. This
particular import had increased within
the past two years from nineteen to thir.
ty-one per cent of the gross receipts.
The whole raw sugar supply was last
year derived from the Pacific coast and
islands. The report develops the opinion
that
With an abundant product Of sugars in
the Pacific ocean countries, and Nth tht
free admission of the Sandtoich Islands pro.
duct, it can hardly seem probable that
any supplies can hereafter reach us from
the Atlantic border with the tax of one
and one-half cents per pound freight.
The business Of refining seems to pros,
per like everything else in California.
These establishments turned out last
year
Twenty-nine million pounds white re,
fined and 100000 pounds brown, with
525, 900 gallons syrup. This product was
embarrassed by the non-deliveries of CON
tracted Hawaiian sugars in consequence
of the delay in the final passage by the
government of the Hawaiian treaty. The
FIRST arrivals Of free Sandwich Islands
| products not reaching us till the eleventh
Of September.
Enough has been written to show the
extraordinary progress of this American
colony planted since the Mexican war
We find California surpasses Louisiana il
the value of its products, while San Fran
cisco commands commerce far create
than the city of New Orleans. We car
not account for these results, but ma.
quote the common saying ''that no peopl,
have SO much local pride as the Californi
ans, and none are so Disseminated whei
they have to move to another State O
country"