The record-union., 1897-10-19
Over -Four Hundred Delegates in Attendance
at the Opening Session.
a Handsome Silver Loving Cup
Presented to Jacob Neff, the Re
tiring President-The Commit
tee on Legislation Submits
Lengthy Report.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1S.-The
sixth annual convention of the CallIor-
mia Miners Association held its open
ing session to-day, with over 4oO deae-
gates in attendance. A pleasant feat
ure Of the session was the presentation
of a handsome silver loving cup to Ja-
cob H. Neff, the retiring President, VINO
has served the association in that ca
pacity since its inception.
An important question was brought
out by Colonel Keyes, who proposed
that the convention recommend the abb
olition of the extra lateral right, and
favor a law for surface locations only.
The alleged reason for the proposed
modification is the advisability OF mar
lnonizing the mining laws OF all the
States. The suggestion will be Ylgor-
Dusly opposed by many delegates, VINO
desire the continuance Of the old CAN
fornia custom to let a miner follow MS
ledge. even though It extends beyond
abe surface boundary of his location.
CONVENTION PROCEEDINGS.
SAN FRANCISCO. Oct 1S.-The an
nuaI convention of the California MIN
ers, Association was called to order by
President Jacob Neff to-day at lO
O'Clock. The convention is fraught with
more than usual interest, from the 1act
that some action is proposed that VIII
materially change the Federal MINING
laws. which are considered faulty and
lead to the establishment of mining
department of the Federal Government
All the mining counties in the State
were represented.
After the appointment of a Commit
tee on Credentials consisting Of one del
egate from each county, the convention
adjourned to 1:30 p. m.
At the afternoon session Tirey L..
Ford San Francisco, of the Committee
on Legislation, submitted the following
report:
Your Committee on Legislation beg
leave to submit the following report for
the year just closed:
Nothing has been done by Congress
In the matter of mining legislation
since the last annual meeting Of your
honorable body. The mineral lands bill,
so called, which was then pending in
the House of Representatives failed to
receive the recognition of the Speaker,
and thus failed to become a law. The
same bill has been introduced into the
present Congress by Hon. George c.
Perkins in the Senate, and by Hon.
Marion De Vries in the House Of Rep
resentatives. Your committee regrets,
in common with all those who have the
interest of the mining industry of this
State at heart, that the above bill
should have failed Of passage by the
Fifty-fourth Congress. 1t is unneces-
sary to review here the causes of such
failure, though it may not be anniss to
say that the California Miners Asso-
citation did all that lay in their power
to secure its passage and approval. Our
representatives in Congress give US
much hope to believe that the bill will
pass and become a law during the ap-
proaching session of the Fifty-fourth
Congress.
According to an estimate made for
your committee by the Commissioner
of the General Land Office on June 10Th
last, there remained unpatented at that
date within the railroad land grants in
Ca1ifornfa il ,596, 073. SO acres, distribut-
ed as follows, to-wit:
Western Pacific (San Jose to
xsntrai aGlIlnePSo2 l'l0 0l' %
to Nevada State line). ], ,199, 1884. u
California and Oregon (Rose-
vile to Oregon State 1ine)... 922, POI .04
IS. r. main line (San Jose to
the Needlesl ..-................ AIS, ,296. .S(
s. p. branch line ................. 8, ,927, ,S7S 81
---- =
Total IL ,596, ,073 81
Your committee has no means of
knowing how much of this vast acre
age is mineral in character, though it
is believed that a large percentage of
Sit would be found upon examination to
be mineral land within the meaning OF
the proposed mineral lands bill
Our State Legislature, during its re-
cent session at Sacramento, so amended
the Act appropriating $250000 for the
construction of restraining barriers as
10 make it conform to the Congressional
Act and thus remove as near as pos
sible any impediment to the appropria-
tion and expenditure of the above sum-
This, together with the S250,000 appro-
priated by Congress, makes a fund OF
$500000 now available for the con-
Struction of restraining barriers 1t is
understood that plans are being per-
fected by the Federal engineers for the
expenditure of this money, and that
actual work viii be begun during the
summer of 1898.
The Legislature also passed an Ac'
governing the manner of locating anc
recording mining claims This Act was
intended to supplement- the Fedora
WR EkH -