The morning call., 1891-12-11
HYDRAULIC MINING.

Miners Convention was held at Au-
burn, Placer County, in November, which
the Placer Argus pronounees the largest
body OF representative citizens of Placer
County that has ever met together. The
first clause OF tie pres bic adopted is as
follows:
WHEREAS, The apparent conflict OF Interest
between the min ing and agricultural Industries
OF California IN reference to the subject of lIy.
draulic mining has resulted in The confiscation
OF property rights and in the almost total ami
hiistion of great Industry on the one hand, and
10 " hard times" financial stagnation and bank.
ruptcy on the other; and ETC., etc.
Another clause in the preamble states
that by complete restoration of the min
ing industry in California the gold output
of the State and the revenues of the coun-
try would be increased from ten TO twelve
millions OF dollars year. These would be
good arguments on the miners side of the
question if they had been pre- eded by a
sho wing that complete restoration of the
mining industry would not cause much
greater loss than the entire results claimed
from such restoration. AS for property
rights, no rule or principle of law is more
thoroughly established than that one man
may not use his property to the detriment
| of another 1t is this rule which enables
the property holders on a residence street
in Auburn or other city to resist the estab-
lishment of certain industries, useful in
themselves, but which from their nature
would drive other property-owners from
| their homes. The people of the State who
| have common interest in our waterways
| and the landowners In the valleys com
| manded by the mountain ranges in which
| the gold-mines are located invoke this ac-
tod i'll, L..
their property. There are property rights
in lands subject to an overflow Of debris
from the mines as well as in the
mines themselves. The Auburn Conyen-
ton issued an address to the people
| of the State, which embodies reasons why
| the law against hydraulic mining should be
rejected, or rather, why judicial decisions
| enforcing such law should be reversed.
| One Of these reasons is that within the last
forty-three years these mines have poured
$3.50, 100000 in gold and $50, 1000, 900 In sill
yer into the channel of trade. This is a
very large sum and exceeds the present
assessed values Of taxable property In the
| State, butft really has no bearing upon the
question. 1t is not assumed that there Is as
much more in the mountain ranges, and il
| II were the assumption could not rest upon
more solid basis than mere conjecture
The only argument that can be considered
is that relating to the possibility of storing
debris in dams. The address quotes from
| the report of the Commission of United
States army Engineers appointed by Act
| oil Congress-, known as the Biggs bill,
IN support of the practicability OF this plan.
The defect in this report has heretofore
been pointed out by THE CALL. While it
provides for the storage of solid earth COM
ing from tie mines, it makes no provision
for the water which passes off CARRYING
dissolved matter wherever it goes. This
water leaves portions Of its burden in the
upper rivers, and carries portion into the
lower bays and out to the bar at the en-
trance to the hartor of San Francisco. 1t
does not take much engineering science to
demonstrate that this mass of muddy"