Year: 1872

DEAR HERALD:-If ever the spirit of enuii and
unrest had possession Of mortal, this demon has
held me in thralldom during the "holidays"
Hollow days, truly; dreary and dark, with wind,
rain, fog mud and cold separated from my fam
lily, and nothing to do, it has been wcarisome
time to me; so much so that when we saw per-
son smile Ill the street knew that he was
nothing but n base hypocrte and that all his
apparent Joyousness was put on for the occasion
and that i'll his heart he was swearing at the chill
ling scene around him. The result is that We
are down


on HOLIDAYS.


Just while in this gloomy mood we met good,
honest Senator, who coaca,Ted don't misunder-
stand me- we did not drink. This gent, Mr..
O'Connor of Nevada, says he will introduce n
bill to amend the Constitution so as to have the
| Legislature to meet after the "holidays," and
| thus accomplish saving of about seventeen
! hundred dollars a day to the State, or the aggre-
| gate of over twenty thousand dollars, and allow
us, that is, the Legislators and we camp followers.
to stay at home with our families instead of rid
ing round the country on the hotel railroads with
| a free pass in our pockets The cry will come
up, oh! this is meanness, what is twenty thous-
and dollars to rich State? 1t is true economy,
not to hint that it would have a purifying effect
| by keeping our legislators from too much famili-
arty with these monopolsts. EVIL oommuni-
cations corrupt good Manners" and these hol-
| days generally spent in San Francisco where


the axes and small and large edge tools are to be
ground, and where many poor devil is tram


meled during the rest of the session.
| FREE PASSES.


While in a scolding mood we will give notice


that Senator has informed us that he intends
| to offer bill making it criminal for member OF


the Legislature to receive free pass for his ben
! eft.


CHRISTMAS


Was celebrated here in the usual manner by
| giving gifts, and many little heart was made
| glad, and many little eye made bright by the


innocent fiction of old Santa Claus filling the


empty stocking with the coveted toys. 1t is a


night to celebrate by giving to the young and
! the poor, and the anniversary OF the day that


the Father of all gave to his children a Savior
| whose example has been sanctifyng to the world
| ever since.


| NEW YEARS


Is another day, an oasis in the desert of thirteen


that all people ought to commemorate. 1t is a
| day for retrospection and examination and MAX


ing VOWS, which is healthfu exercise TO the
soul. The mere making of these resolutions
| does good, but alas, they are seldom kept. They


that is the VOWS, generally lie along the pathway
of the succeeding year like the broken fragments


of some old ruin, or rather like the broken frag-
mcnts of crockery where the team of some ped
| der in that article has away and scattered
| the contents on the roadside Fragments by


the law of simple suggestion, brings me to speak
| of what tho


STORM KING


VIII probably accomplish for the railroads. Not


the amount of damage done, but the amount Of


benefit likely TO accrue from it to them in the


way Of legislation. 1t is already said in certain
circles 'Well after such losses the Legislature
| will not think of reducing freights and fares.


''Straws show the way the wind blows" This
| will be the dodge. Yet have confidence IN


the integrity of our Legislature. The people


ought to food them with petitions if they do not
| act without


NO FENCE LAW.
| There has been much discussion on this ques-


ton and we do not know how you people of the


mountains feel about it. Bat there grave
| reasons against the passage of this law, that we
! have not seen urged anywhere. Farming is fast


becoming monopoly in this State, and this is


another step towards facilitating the progress Of


the evil Upon this subject cut slip from


the Oakland Transcript as follows:
cone man in California owns $50, 600 acres Of
| land and there are twelve men who own over
| 27S6, 900, or an average OF more than ll4OOO
| acres each. One company OF ten men have a


fence of over one hundred and sixty miles around


single tract"


| The above is ominous Of the future. If fenc-


ing is done away with, these large land grabbers


and farmers will introduce steam plows cultivate


their thousands of acres, and drive out all the


small farmers, because they can cultivate for less


money. They are now doing it, Then they


will get clear of all taxes nearly ALL for fences
are taxable property and this makes us revenue
and prevents them monopolizing so much. The
| small farmers are the salt of the land-they are


the virtuous, intelligent friends of our free in
sttutions-far more Incompatible than the
masses in our densely populated cities. We do


not like to legislation for capital. There may
| be portions of the valley where 1t might be pol
| cy in the government, but fail to see even
that.


AN ANECDoTE


By Mark Twain While in Damascus, speaking


of land boundaries, he says they have nothing
| but heaps Of stones to mark their possessions,


and in his quaint way remarks that an lntelli-
gent American could IN one night accumulate II
| large tract of land in that country" This is an


illustration of the practical working OF the mo
| fence law"


THE APPoRTIONMENT.


1t is made the duty to fix the apportionment


at this session, but there will be much of


souabble about the matter that it may lie over to


another session. The mountain counties are


going down and losing representation and every
| thing centering in our cities. San Francisco


will have full one-fourth Of our next Legislature


under fair apportionment.


| DIsTRIcTING SAN FRANCISCO.
There is no way to prevent An undue influence


in this city but by dividing it up into districts


1t is proposed and will be contended for, to make