Year: 1864

one of the largest and most successful ope-
rators in the Boise country, informs US that
there is not a miner or man engaged in the
mining trade, in the Boise Basin, who does
not regard the Dalles as by all odds the best
and most convenient place at which to To-
cate the Branch Mint He says that if the
miners are compelled to pass this point they
would prefer to continue on to San Francis
co; and that their feeling is, that they
would rather have no Miat at all than have
1t located where at certain portions Of the
year it is entirely inaccessible to miners
The feeling be says is strong, that if we are
to have a Mint it must be located at some
point on the Columbia River, and the more
central and accessible the place the better.
With unexampled unanimity the miners
coneede that the Dalles more than any other
place possesses advantages of location, and
hence with one voice they are opposed to
any change, and more particularly change
that would take the Mint to Portland.


The Mountaineer further says:


&c. S. Miller, Esq, who has just returned
from an extensive tour in the Boise and
Owyhee country, informs us that all through
the mining regions petitions are being cir
culated and numerously signed, asking Con-
gress to complete the Branch Mint at the
Dalles, at the earliest possible moment, and
earnestly protesting against any change of
location. Mr.. NJ. informs us that these pc
ttions are being signed by hundreds and
thousands, and that the uniform feeling in
the mining region is that it would be an
outrage upon the miners to remove the Mint
to place so out of the way and remote as
Portland. The miners are becoming aroused
on this question, and with one voice they
demand that their interests and conven-
ience shall be consulted in deciding the
question of location"


The general testimony of miners and 9TH
ers who reside eastward of Dalles, upon the
question of location, is in opposition to
Portland and in favor of Dalles or some
point still nearer the mines If the mint
must be relocated, the people will demand
that it shall be established nearer to the
mines, and at some point which will be the
most accessible at all seasons of the year and
which will best accommodate the mining
interests of the upper country. If, as es-
tablished at present, the Mint would work
injury to the town of Portland and the Will
lamette interests, it would be we'll to re-lo-
cate it far enough this side to obviate such
disastrous consequences. But for Portland
to set up and urge her claims to the mint es-
ta5lishment upon the grounds of conven-
fence of location, is an absurdity. Taking
the Mint from Dalles and giving it to Port
land would be kind of "robbing Peter to
pay Paul" operation, so far as those local.
ties are concerned, and at the same time it
would be robbing the people Of the mining
regions Of their just dues Portland is a
good enough place in its way but the whole
country between the Rocky and Cascade
Mountains, with its teeming and enterprs-
! ing population, cannot surrender up its vast
interests even to crafty the very modest de-
mands of that City; and Oregon's represen
tatives in Congress will do we'll next winter
if they will look somewhat to the interests
of Eastern Oregon and Idaho in this matter,
even if it should fail to please some people
located at Portland