Year: 1861


ness were against enterprise and truth There
may be many now within the hearing of my
voice. who have carefully read the yearly
published accounts of this Society, and deem
hat therefrom they have learned the COM
plete history oft To them | say, if from
such sources you have derived your only in
formation, you know not the one-half of its
history Back behind that printed record
lies vast unwritten one. which, if published
would startle you with its history Of wild
wer between truth and error. :cor years m"in-
tained; of victories gained; of vast good ac
comphshed; and of general benefits to the
entire people of State secured.


Such is "a brief outline of this Society's his
tory as have learned solely by observation.
But who shall attempt to recount the mighty
ends for good to our peoples and our States
prosperity this Society has achieved, or the
still greater ones that it is destined to ac-
complish. 1t was this Society that first
whispered in the ears of our pioneers the great
truths revealed 10 us in unmstakahie terms
this day. 1t was this Society that first pro
claimed these startling truths to wondering
world, whereby flood of sturdy immlgra-
tion was caused to set in, and still continues
to pour its needed wealth Of human mind,
heart and muscle, into our State. What a
noble duty in the past have they performed ;
md what countless benefits in the future they
seem destined to achieved On, then-on
with your noble labors cease not until Cali
fornias valleys and mountains shall TEEN with
that abundant civilization she is so able to
sustain. Strive on, until the homeless and
oppressed of other lands SHALL urged by you,
flee their oppression and want and here with
in our limits become freedoms children, aud
see sweet content and plenty daily guests Mt
their cottage hearths. For such noble efforts
State shall boast you as her noblest pride {;
and thousand hearts, turning their thoughts
to God in praise for all His blessings, shall
pray His kindliest blessings on your heads as
the instruments that guided them to such
earthly comforts.


| wish it was.in my power, as indeed it was
my intention, to carefully prepare and pre-
sent to you "A compilation showing the yearly
increase or decrease of all our States pro-
ducts the advancement made in the several
departments of labor by our people, the
amount of our exports and imports Of all kinds
as compared with previous years, aud the
amount of lands reclnimed within the last
year. Such a table intended to carefully
compile, whereby could lay before the
world proof in figures of all the advancement
in the peaceful arts we claim to be making,
and thereby point pairly out to our own
people The proper field of labor for the coming
year. In order to do this. | expected to be
furnished with statistics from which to make
this showing. To my great disappointment.
these have not been furnished me, and, after
waiting long time for them, | found myself
driven to the necessity of making this ad-
dress upon the basis of my own observations.


Such a basis is necessarily limited, and may
prove entirely valuGless and uuinteresting |
will however, make some few suggestions,
wherein ] will endeavor to point out some of
the few fields of successful enterprise that
seem to me to be ouspread before our peo-
pie. and which they have not yet fairly eX-
plored. The newly discovered silver land of
Nevada Territory, lying contiguous to us,
and pcopled mainly by emigrants from our
own State, looks to us for all OF ita CONNER
cal traffic, yet it is now only accessible to US
hy means of rude and tiresome mountain
road over whose weary miles, at huge cost
and discomfort all the commerce of that peo
pie now necessarily drags its way. TO that
Territory we need railroad, and with it for
all time to come would come bounding to us
its wealth of traffic as indeed would also
come almost all the trade and traffic of the





Rocky Mountains,


But not alone in such a manner would it
advantage us. 1t would serve to put us in
more immediate communication with our Sis
ter States. increase immigration to our shores
hy decreasing the cost and shortening the
time of travel; aud if in the future the great
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad should be con
>iructed it would by being thus first built
secure to us its western terminus not only
within this State, but at such point herein
as we most desire. This enterprise. it seems
TO me- il within our power, and certainly
seems pregnnnt with the greatest good to our
state, and also seems to me to I've an enter
prise that will most certainly and bountifuly
repay those who may engage in it.


We also need within our State system OF
railroads for internal intercommuncation.
We cannot shut our eyes to the unwelCome
fact that each year increases the difficulty of
navigating our rivers. They are gradually
becoming filed up 10y the ceaseless flow of
sediment from the mining districts. Each
year, from these causes, the quantity of water
in them decreases. Their channels widen and
become shallc wer, aad if present it dications
prove true, they will soon be rendered un-
navigahle except during the rainy seasons
We should not wait until this happens before
we adopt substitute, but we should imme-
diately prepare that substitute for use. 1t is
true that several railroad enterprises are PRO
iected, and some of them are said to be in
process of construction. But about them
there seems to he such a sickly spirit that
fear they are net likely soon to be completed
Whether this is the result of Encouragement
or want of proper puhGc encouragement,
know not; but certainly there is some wrong
about the matter that our people can and
should remedy; for they are cur greatest
public necessities at this time.


Another very alarming evil in this State,
caused 10y the filing up Of our rivers, is the
vast destruction yearly caused TO our finest
farm lands adjoining them The sediment
from the mining districts which is borne
down by their currents is mixture of clay
and sand which seems to be almost entirely
devoid of vegetable nutrition, and wherever
it is deposited upon our bottom lands it seems
to turn them into deserts of dust and sand.
Many of our finest orchards and vineyalds
have thus already been either entirely de-
stroyed or materially injured, whilst the pros
pect Of immediate damage from that cause
seems more alarmingly great each year.


A simple remedy against this evil is open
to all and consists in embanAing the land
upon the river side Many valuable farms
within my knowledge, which last year were
inundated for weeks and the orchards and
crops upon them almost entirely destroyed,
might thus, at comparatively small expense
been saved, at least for years to come.


am aware there are many farms that it
would be useless thus to attempt to protect,
unless adjoining farms above and below them,
for some distance, should be similarly EN-
banked In all such cases, associations for