Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1879-04-10


The mining men Of this coast are alarmed.
and we think reasonably SO, lest the new
Constitution prepared for California shall
be adopted. Pretty much all 0: the min
Ing companies on the coast are organized
in, San Francisco, and have their head
quarters there. Anything that tends to
cripple these mining corporations must
necessarily react injuriously on the mines
themselves. To this extent, at least, are
We OF Nevada interested. Through the
stock market, and the system OF assess
ments which have grown up, seem to fur
nish the most feasible mode of deriving
means for the development Of undeveloped
mining property. We undertake to say
that there are no ten capitalists on the
whole coast who can be induced TO take
hold of an u~nproductive mine and prose-
cute the work of development at a dead
loss until q paying basis is reached. But
this can be done, and is being done, by the
old system Of buying and collecting assess
ments. There are mines on the Comstock
that have not yielded . pound Of ore in
ten years, and still work goes on, furnish
ing employment to hundreds Of poor
men, and contributing largely to the
prosperity OF all branches Of bust
ness. Restrict the buying and sell
ing Of mining stocks, and it requires
no prophet to divine the effect on the leading
industry Of Nevada. People will not pay
assessments on q thing that has not q tan
gible value in the market. Without assess
ments, work must cease on at least one
half Of the mines in this State. This is a
plain and truthful statement Of the situa-
ton. As showing in what the
mining interests are liable to be disturbed
by the new Constitution, we quote a few
Of its provisions bearing upon the subject.
Article XIV, section rs, reads as follows !:
The Legislature shall pass laws to regu-
late or prohibit the buying or selling Of
the shares Of the capital stock of corpora
ions in any stock board, stock exchange,
or stock market under the control Of m
association. All contracts for the sale Of
shares Of the capital stock Of any corpora
tion or association on margin, or to be de-
livered at o future day, shall be void, and
any money paid on such contracts may be
recovered by the party paying it, by suit
in any Court of competent Jurisdiction.
Article XII, section 2, reads dues
from corporations shall be secured by such
individual liability Of the corporators and
other means as may be prescribed by law"
Section 3, same article, says
Each stakeholder of o corporation or
Joint stock association shall be individually
and personally liable for such proportion
of all its debts and liabilities contracted
or incurred during the time he was q stock
holder, as the amount of stock or shares
owned by him bears to the whole Of the
subscribed capital stock or shares Of the
corporation or association. The directors
of corporations shall be jointly and sever
ally liable to the ere litors md STOCKHOLM
ers for all moneys embezzled or misappro-
priated by the officers Of such corporation.
during the term Of office Of such directors.
The above extracts must satisfy anyone
that the ratification Of the new organic law
OF California would be bad for Nevada.
Indeed, we doubt if thereafter we would
ever be able to get men of means into min
ing corporations. That personal liability
clause would simply result in forcing men
who have money to keep it in their pockets.
1t would surely be destructive Of all enter
terprise through the medium Of associ-
ated capital.
PREPARATIONS toward making the next
the most correct and elaborate of any GEN.
sus ever taken, are being pushed in Wash
ington. The table below, prepared with
care at the Capitol, gives the cost of each
ensus since the f~oundatian of the Govern
ment, and the number Of people returned
by the enumeration
Year. Population. Cost.