Year: 1867

DR.. j. NJ. KELSEY. STocKToN-D7ar SIR ::
Your kind favor Of the Goth is at hand.
hasten to comply with your request that
should furnish you for publication the sub
stance of the language used by me in my
speech at Stockton on the oath inst, In
reference to the tide land and Western
Pacific Railroad measures of the last session.
l have observed that, as you say, my
enemies are doing their best to confuse the
| public mind in relation to these matters, and
that certain of the opposition papers are
striving to conceal from the people my views
as stated by me. My language on the occa-
sion referred to (and 1 say the same wherever
1 speak, was to this effect, and in about these
words:


Much has been said concerning the tide
land measure of the last session, and of my
relations with persons interested therein.
Let me tell you what that measure really
was. AS your county contains large guam
titles of swamp lands, you are most Of you
aware that under the existing laws of this
| State the swamp and overflowed lands
granted to the State by the General Govern
ment, and the marsh and tide lands along
the bays which belong to the State ''by viz
tue of her Sovereignty as the legal phrase
goes, are subject to location and sale at the
price of one dollar per acre. The original
legislation on this subject exempted from
sale all such lands as We're situated within
five miles Of the city of San Francisco, and
| of certain other localities. Subsequently
| such amendments were made to the law as
| to leave 1t an open question whether any of
these lands were so exempted from sale. \
large and able portion of the legal fraternity
! of San Francisco were of the opinion that the
| tide-lands of and near San Francisco were
| just as clearly open to sale the swamp
| lands in your own county. Accordingly
some parties who were willing to buy these
| lands at the lowest rates, did locate them
and did pay the price, and did obtain from
the Surveyor General of the State (who
agreed with their construction Ct the Iaw)
certificates of purchase. The Governor of
the State, differing from the Surveyor Cen
eral of the State, declined to issue patents for
the land. The claimants then had two rem
edies. They could go to the Legislature and
ask for a confirmation of the supposed sales,
OF they could go into the courts. They
went to the Legislature, and a bill was in
troduced to ratify the sales. The members
listened to the arguments of both sides, and
majority decided against the claimants.
The latter then had confidence enough in the





courts. A test case was taken to the Su-
preme Court of the United States. The de-
cision was rendered few months since, and
/ by it these lands We're declared to be abso-
| lutely the property of the State. This ends
the matter. These lands are of great value
They should never be opened to sale until
such time as they can be disposed of to the
best interests of the State. Whenever they
are SO opened to sale, they must be disposed
of to the best possible advantage to the State,
and any public official who would be party
to their alienation at any earlier time or on
any other terms, would simply prove himself
a dishonest man. I trust l have made this
matter end my own position sufficiently
| plain.


'And noa- in relation to the bill to grant
aid to the Western Pacific Railroad Com
pany At the last session bill was intro
duced into the Assembly and passed. grant
ing aid to the Placerville Railroad Company.
In the Senate substitute was adopted,
granting aid also to the Western Pacific
Railroad Company. At the preceding ses-
sions aid had been granted in the same man
ner. and to greater extent. to the Central
Pacific Railroad Company. 1t was urged on
/ behalf of the Western Pacific that they had
not vet received dollar or an acre Of land
from the general Government and would
not be entitled to anything under the Acts of
! Congress until the completion of the first
twenty miles Of the road. They said they
required State aid to enable them to 90 on
with the work. l knew some of the parties
interested. and holding no public office, and
| being under no obligation whatever to rep
resent the States side of the question, l, as
private citizen, did Just as had a right to
do, namely seconded the application of
! the company for aid. Was it immoral for
them to ask for bounty at the hands of the
| State Was it immoral in me- as their friend
to join in the request: Ought the company
to have opposed the bill: Ought I, as their
friend, to have opposed it We did not say
the State owed anything to the company.
We said "give, if you please" Was there
anything dishonest in this? 1t SO happened
that did not own any interest in the West
| ern Pacific Railroad, or in the contract to
build it. Any statement to the contrary is
unqualifiedly false. l say this happens to
be the fact. 1t would have been in perfect
accordance with good morals. suppose, for
me to have owned an interest. Well. the
bill passed and was vetoed. Since that time
| the Western Pacific Railroad Company have
sold out to the Central Pacific Company.
am glad to be able to say that, from such re-
liable information as can gather, the road
will be pushed forward with the energy
which characterizes that Company. and will
| be built through Stockton in accordance with
the original plan. The first section has long
since been completed, and the United States
| Government aid has been received There
can never again be any reason urged for the
| granting of State aid for its construction :;
aud | freely say to you, that should | be
| chosen Governor. and should any bill pass
during my term of Office, to grant aid to the
road, would refuse it my sanction. ! trust
that in this, as in all else have said, have
been sufficiently explicit"


trust. my dear sir, that the people will
have no difficulty in learning from me, dur
ing the canvass, my views. without evasion,
upon all questions of public interest.


While upon this subject of State aid, it
may not be amiss to refer to the declaration
l made in my address published soon after
the State Convention. have not that doc
ument now before me, but | said, snbstan-
! TALLY, that State aid ought not to be granted
in any event, until after private enterprise
| had made liberal investment and not then
unless clearly in obedience to the public will
as we'll as in accordance with the best inter-
ests of the Commonwealth. To ascertain the