The record-union., 1893-03-17


'aan IL. ,se,i on in taair II :bta, but the
miners Aclrr hal either Uy State or Gov
ernment Ine assessment roll of the val
les lands affected by this question was
over ;3)J,Gye,I 52; that of the mountain
strip concerned was small in comparison,
scarcely one-tenth in fact.
PROTECTION AN INHERENT RIGHT.
c. ?. Berry believed that neither State
nor Government had right to license
one person to injure another. He believed
the miners had agreed to abide by the ac-
ton OF Congress, and had hoped when
the new law passed to see it tried. But If
this law passed litigation would follow
and the miners be beaten. 1t conflicts
with the Caminetti bill, and will stir up
strife and bitterness and war at home.
w. T. PHIPPS OF YUBA
Thought the Governor must be con-
WINGED the bill would be void if it be-
comes law. He read some resolutions
by the different Boards of Supervisors,
and said that they were representative
business men and in some cases had sac
rltlced remunerative trade with the min
ers, preierrlng 10 protect their rights. y
portion OF the state, 100 miles long by
nifty wide, was protesting against the acts
of the miners at the heads Of the Ameri-
can and Feather Rivers. 1t is not a ques-
ton OF the injury of this year or next,
but for all time.
THE MINERS SIDE.
1t now became the miners inning, and
Senator Ford said that when ne intro
duced the bill into the Senate he never
expected any opposition to it, and it had
none in the Legislature. Some Of the
Senators were in doubt at first, but as
soon as they understood it they approved
1t. He had expected to hear some con-
stitutional and State objections, bat had
heard instead arguments on State policy.
IL passed the Senate by q vote OF 80 to /.
He had no though: Of stirring up future
litigation by it.
NOT SPECIAL LEGISLATION.
c. w. Cross said that the argument
against vas devoid of law and facts. lie
had heard MIR. Devlin state his ideas OF
special legislation. This was not special
legislation. In case there was no gen
eral law, special legislation is allowed.
y general law applies to all things in a
class. This bill provides that this class
OF mining can be legislatcd on as class
by itself and is not special legislation, as
1t operates equally on all hydraulic min
ing. W hen the bll went to the Commit
tee on Mines and Mining Ostrom asked
| that it be continued till its opponents
could De heard and it was continued Tor
three weeks. Delegates came and went
away satisfied. The delegates here to-
day could be duplicated by Sacramento
business men not opposed 10 the bill.
The CamluettI bill, as published by the
! papers, was afterwards amended so us to
permit legislation by the State to CO.
operate with it and carry out the purpose
of the law so that there would be no pro-
hibitlon of mining that did not injure
navigable streams.
| This bill is honest, wholesome clean,
and seeks to revive a great industry,
which brings wealth to the State. In the
North Bloomfield case tine engineers all
testified that with impounding works nc
material injury to the streams resulted
and the water would carry away light
matter out Of the Golden Gate and all
agreed that if deposited it would cause nc
damage. The courts had also so decided.
The Caminett bill speaks of Hydraulic
mining as practiced and understood in
California" but III different localities il
differs; this bill so defines it that it may
be beyond question and easily under
stood.
The miners obeyed the law. Watch
men, as they were called i'll the valley, OF
spies as they were termed in the mount
aims, had for years gone night and day
without mOlestatiOn, and it was unjust To
say the miners want to violate the law.
They had obeyed the law and unanimous
legislation in their favor was their re-
ward. Prominent citizens OF both mount
aims and valley were members of the State
Miners Association, oven some who have
come here to-day TO ask the Governor not
to sign this bill. The miners hope that
| Congress will help in the construction OF
dams and ask the State to help them in
that case by an appropriation of $500
! to assist thousands of men to make a liv-
/ i1,er aud balr % Stafa fnho 81
| hydraulic mining has reduced the assess
ment roll Of Nevada County 5000, 900 in
two years.
WHAT IS MATERIAL" DAMAGE?
}. NJ. Fulweiler said there was no dam
age known to law or reason, except ma
terial' damage. Can the purpose of Con-
gress be carried out by the aid of legisla-
! lation in this State? If so, let US do it.
This law did not contravene that purpose;
it assists II.
- The Caminetti bill can be made effect
ual by State legislation.
MIR. DEVLIN AGAIN.
r. T. Devlin said he had tried to state
fairly the issues this morning. The dele
gates present were neither otfice-seekers
nor were ornaments; they were substan-
tial citizens. Nuba County had spent
81, 10000 in protecting its citizens and
Suffer County Sl,000,O0O.
MIR. Cross had not presented one reason
why the law should be signed No man
on earth who had done what the hy-
draulic miners had, had ever been so we'll
treated. The largest part of the $3.50, 0OG
would come from the valley, but its voice
was not raised against it. They only
asked that this bill be not placed on the
statute to their injury.l
Any law which gives the hydraulic
miners privileges others do not have is
unconstitutional. Neither he nor the
Anu-Debris Association had been able to
appear before the Committee on Mines
and Mining.
The Caminetti bill, he said, tries to take
care Of mining, with justice to both sides,
but the miners are divided upon it and it
does not go far enough for some. We can
trust the United States engineers to do
right AS to the ''spies," he recapitulated
the turning of the monitors upon Deputy
Sheriff Alter at Gold Run recently, and
said the miners OF that vicinity thought
the State had 10 laws they were bound
to respect.
HANS IS WICKED