The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1903-07-24
THE WEEKLY COURIER.
Carson Letter.


ED. COURIER: Joe Chamberlain, the
Colonial Secretary for the British EN-
pire, is reported to have lately said
III do not intend to be included by
some future Gibbon in the history OF
the decline and fall of the British En-.
pire." Gibbon, after studying seven.
teen years in Rome, wrote a book
called The Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire. During that time he
also tried to find out whether he
should be Protestant or a Catholic.
l believe he began as a Catholic, and
turned Protestant, and finally died a
Catholic. However, that is not to the
purpose. Mr.. Chamberlain, the most
prominent relief in contemporaneous
British history, has said that he does
not intend to be included las charac-
teri by some future GibbCn in the his
tory of the Decline and Fall of the
British Empire. What, if anything,
suggests to Mr.. Chamberlain's mind
any such thing as the decline and fall
of the British Empire? 1t must be
suggested by some existing condition.
Is the British empire threatened with
decline and fall? 1t must be, or else
why mention it? But what does he
mean? Does he mean to retire from
office, SO as not to be included, ETC.?
Hardly. Is it a threat that unless his
policy in advocating stronger band
of sympathy between the mother coun-
try and the colonies by means of diff
ferential duties in favor of the colo
MES as against "uitlanderso is adopted
by parliament that the British Empire
will decline and fall, and he will not
attempt to uphold its pillars? Lam
guage, being invented to conceal
thought, with politicians and diplo-
mats, it would seem to be waste of
time trying to figure out what they do
really and truly mean when they use
any words, and likely the safest thing
to do is to ''play them with copper"
The Pacific Coast Miner recently
published an article about mining To-
cations at Tonopah, claiming that
many of them are illegal, on the
ground that very many of the loca-
tions are made without any previous
discovery of ledge, the miners sim
ply sinking down in the hope of find
ing ore at depths of from 400 to 900
feet. Such condition is certainly
alarming. However, / see no cause
for alarm, and the miners need fear
nothing but fool or dishonest judge.
The porphyry through which the min
ers sink is impregnated with little
bit of mineral, and it is the apex of
their vein, and their discovery. A
formation that is recognized as "the
vein" by the law is anything
that will encourage him to spend his
time and money in the hope of finding
pay ore. Justice Field, and Judges
Hawley, Dewitt, Hallett, Beatty, and
every other able jurist who ever had
occasion to decide the point, has 30
held. Any formation will do. 1t is
too. Is man to be de-
prived of his location, because his
apex is poor and uninviting, and he is
almost convinced that he has TO work
years with scarcely hope of reward?
After he strikes it," and has ex-
his funds and his strength,
can any one who has just made the
that ''the old man" at the
bottom of the shaiI has found pay
rock get ahead OF lin - aa;.e : valid
location of the -le"ah' : cdAaet be
done and will ne.tf =. ioaa .-,l =. < as
there is common e.a... 60 TIC ), nch.
Judge Hawley a. "a t,..;... 'ates
Circuit Court as G.....o1 j., the Jaae of
Ritter against Lynch, decided Oh July
], 1908, that he would not weigh" the
value of miners discovery. What
could be stronger? The testimony was
that mere "colors' had been obtained
from the surface rock. 1t concerned
placer location, but that made no diff
ference; the principle applies to ledge
locations. The policy of the law is to
encourage the development of the
resources of the United States,
and honest judges will not weigh the
value of the material which encour-
ages the miner in the expenditure of
his time and money in developing
those resources.
An exchange says that Winnemucca
has lust been connected by phone with