Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-04

foullng OF the rivers but that agricultural
operations have contributed to that result.
They deny that the mines are owned by
foreigners or worked by Chinese. They
declare that they do not employ nearly so
many Chinese as the farmers in the valley.
They further represent that they have al
ways been willing and ready to do what
ever was possible towards restoring and
preserving the rivers; that this restora.
ton and preservation could have been
effected by the Drainage Act; that they
did not expect the State to continue to
contribute towards the prosecution Of
these works for more than three years, at
the expiration of which time they intended
to take charge of and maintain the re-
straining dams themselves.
In conclusion they say "'Che condition
"of affairs is briefly thus: engineers, as
cable as can be found in the United States,
assert that the mines can be worked.
that the valley lands at the same time
"can be protected, and that the navigable
"water. courses of the State can be brought
g into good condition. In the face of these
Statements by scientific authorities, it is
proposed to at once cut off from the an.
" nual revenue of the people of the State
"some $l3, 000,00O The ruin of the min
sing counties will then follow, and yet
''the danger from the vast deposits of de-
''bris in the rivers will have to be met.
This is a concise and at the same time rea-
sonably accurate condensation,of the actual
situation. 1t is perfectly true, as we have
repeatedly demonstrated, that no respect
able reason has been shown for abandoning
the engineering plans which had the in
dorsement of the best science in the ccun-
try. No man has ever been in position
to say with authority that those plans
would not have succeeded. On the CON
trary, the only men who are entitled to
speak confidently ON the matter, because
they understand the question experiment
ally, namely, the engineers, have within
tae past few weeks reiterated their conyic-
tions that the protection of the valleys can
be assured beyond peradventure by the
prosecution Of these works.
It is not TO be denied either that the
miners have been allowed to prosecute
their enterprises for so long time that,
even supposing them to be without legal
justification for the results of their work,
they may claim to have been induced to
make heavy investments On the strength of
general acquiescenee in what they were
doing. Considerations of this kind will
not perhaps have much weight with those
whose property has been injured or de-
stroyed by the slickens, and it is not to be
expected that these parties will display
phenomenal patience and philosophy.
There is, however, one argument in the
miners appeal which can be appreciated by
all. and that is the argument that even if
the mines are all stopped, and the mining
counties depopulated, the danger from
debris will not be removed. This is the
consideration which the RECORD UNION
has specially insisted upon, and so far as
we can see there ia literally no answer to
it. All that the farmers desire, we pre-.
sumo, is guarantee against future injury.
1t is not credible that they wish to ruin
the miners wantonly. II they can be
made secure against injury to their lands
they doubtless would be perfectly willing
that mining should continue But whether
they are SO willing or not they must per.
ceive that they cannot secure their own
safety by any methods which do not take
account of the enormous masses of debris
already in the upper channels of the riveTs.
Litigation cannot protect them against this
at all. No amount of suits will affect it in
the least. Nothing but restraining works
can hold it back. and litigation contem.
plates no such precautionary devices.
The miners say that they are willing to
take upon themselves the cost of maintain
ing the dams already built. If they do
not do it, the inevitable conclusion is that
it will not be done at all And if it is not
done at all there is no power on earth ca
pablo of preventing the destruction of all
the lands which the farmers are now trying
TO preserve by litigation. All talk of en-,
joining the hydraulic mines is practically
irrelevant so long as no provision is made
for dealing with the debris which has left
the mines. Whoever cannot see this truth
is incapable of compromising the plainest
matters of fact. ii, therefore, the advo.
Gates of litigation have no consideration for
the equities of the miners, they must at
least realize that they are jeopardizing
their own interests by relying absolutely
upon means of protection which cannot
protect them. 1t is, indeed, quite true, as
the miners say, that the money about to
be spent in litigation would, if properly ex-
pended, largely contribute to the relief
g and settlement of the injury done to the
rivers" AS it is, this money will go
into the pockets of the lawyers, and even
if the farmers win their suits they will
still be exposed to as great dangers as ever,
and will then have no defense left against
the debris If the statement of the miners
causes this subject to be discussed in a
larger and broader spirit, it will have been
worth making, for just now there is far too
strong a tendency to jump to conclusions
about it without examining the facts a. all,
and such tendency helps nobody but the
e-hunting lawyers.
BRITISH COLUMBIA.