The record-union., 1893-02-10

taken up again between the farmers and
miners. He represented, he said, val
ley district that had been damaged by
the miners to the extent OF millions. He
declared that the valleys were far more
valuable than the mines, and if one had
to give way it should be the industry of
hydraulic mining. If the mines were
victorious, the rest of the State would be
but desert
senator Wilson got up and made an
other one of his characteristic arguments.
lie declared that some slickens had run
clean over his ranch and never touched
it.'i
Senator Seaweu said his county was
not Immediately concerned in the solu-
ton of the hydraulic mining question,
but while he was the agriculturists'
friend, he was also the miners friend.
There was nothing indefinite about the
word "materiaP' at all. Every lawyer
understood that the word had distinct
meaning in the courts. He thought the
amendment should be voted down and
the bill passed. The dangers that might
follow have been greatly exaggerated by
those against the bill. He did not think
there could be any damage at all under
this bill.
GoUCHER FAvORS THE BILL.
Senator Goucher took the floor and said
he. was in favor of the original and against
the amendment. He, like Senator Sea-
well, regarded the farmer with as much
love as he did the miner, but he would
not permit himself to be carried away by
the prejudices OF one against the other.
He believed the miners should be given
justice. The bill proposed was simply to
crystalline the present law and give the
miners rule to work on. Heread Web
ster's definition OF the word material, :"
and argued that, if left in the bill, it
would mean that mining could not be
stopped on any theoretical or imaginary
injury-but that the injury must be ma
terial, or, in other words, must be ofsome
substance or importance before the in
dustry can be bounced upon.
Mr.. Ford rose and said he was very
sorry that Mr.. Ostrom had resorted to
sentiment. He had hoped the old story
would not be revived. But, as that gen.
tleman had seen fit to refer to the ruined
homes in the valley, he considered it
quite proper to call his attention to the
uesolation in the mountains brought
about by the refusal to permit them to
earn their bread and butter. There were
shattered homes here that would bring
tears to the eyes of the most hard-hearted
homes that once were happy and pros
porous, where, in pioneer days, when the
miners came, and, like Moses, smote the
rocks and caused streams of gold to flow,
and everything indicated thrift, wealth
and future great country. But now all
was desolation. Those who could afford
it had given up their homes and departed.
but others there were who could not get
away, and remained there with the one
little hope that some day they would be
permitted to take the gold from their
mines.
The roll was then called on Ostrom's
amendment, and it was defeated by a
vote of 80 to 8.
ANOTHER AMENDMENT.
Ostrom next offered an amendment to
the section defining hydraulic mining as
turning a stream of water through a
nozzle against natural BANK He pro-
posed to add after the word "bank" the
words "or earth loosened by artificial
means from natural bank, or by water
run over natural bank" He spoke in
favor of the amendment, and went over
the mining question again.
Senator Ford said the amendment was
misleading, as the amendment would in
clude as hydraulickers the ground
sluicers, and other little mining indus
tries carried on by primitive methods.
He hoped it would not prevail.
Ostrom replied that he did not want to
hurt the small miners. There was no
danger of that. But he wanted the law
right. He didn't want hydraulicking in
its bad forms to go ahead under a techni-
cality. Under the Ford bill he thought
that the earth could be loosened by water
or powder, and it would not then be a
natural bank; or water could be turned
against bank by means of some other
device than nozzle.
Senator Martin of Placer said it was
all nonsense talking about bug in
the bill. 1t was plain as day to the I'M
prejudiced. If hydraulicking should be
resumed and any injury done to the
farmers, they can be enjoined and
stopped permanently under the common
law. The Senator then branched off into
sentiment. He drew graphic picture OF
the desolation and depopulation of the
mining districts, and said they had been
driven to this condition by the very peo-
pie whom they had brought to this beau
| tiful country-by the people for whom
they had built cities and homes. He
scoffed at the idea that debris had caused
all the trouble with the rivers. When he
first came to Sacramento, forty years ago,
he said, three-foot water mark was on
the buildings on K street in Sacramento.
having been left there by the flood OF
lS52-a time when there was no hydraulic
mining and no debris.
Ayes 49, noes I. This amendment died
too, and then vote on the bill itself was
taken. Every Senator voted for it except
Mr.. Ostrom.
MADEIRA COUNTY.
The bill creating the new county Of
MADEIRA was taken up in the Senate yes
terday afternoon for final passage.
Mr.. Goucher spoke at length regarding
the feeling of the people of Fresno
County on the question of division. He
said that outside of few banking in.
stitutions and attorneys who represent
those institutions everybody in Fresno
the people-were in favor of letting the
people of MADEIRA form a county TO,
themselves. This feeling had beer
greatly misrepresented, he said, by Ger.
tain people interested in defeating the
measure 1t had been said that a mass
meeting held in Fresno to consider the
question of division had been packed by
the "divisionists," and that the opposi-