Year: 1871




tors and Representatives, that in point Of
numbers, they can have but little influence
upon the legislation of the State. In the
first years Of its history, when mining was
the leading interest and the mines the
great centres of population, the counties OF
which we are speaking were in the heighth
of prosperity, and composed the only mar
kets with which the products of agriculture
and the trade of commercial counties could
be pro6tably supplied. The earlier years
of the mines, when fair competencies and
great fortunes were alike hidden beneath
the earth's surface, and every man who
could reach the field of action had the
right to hope that he might be lucky
enough to unearth these treasures, brought
! to this State the adventurous spirits of every
land, and laid the foundation of her pres
ent wealth and power. From the very
hour of her acquisition by the Federal
Government, her progress has been upward
and onward, and although generation has
not passed since that hour, we point With
pride to the high position California has
already gained in the sisterhocd of States.


But, in the general prosperity and in
creased population attendant, the mining
counties have not shared Drained of the
mineral wealth which constituted the chief
reward of labor in former years, they no
longer present the same field for capital or
labor as was presented when wages could
be realized from almost any gulch Or bar,
by the simple appliances OF mining then in
use. While the population of the State has
increased greatly within the past decade,
that Of the mining counties has, with one
exception, shown a constant decrease, in
some instances to about half, or less, of the
population set down in the census of ten
years ago. With this loss of population
there has been more than corresponding





was dug from their now almost deserted
hills and gulches and carried away to en-
rich other sections, but in the depreciation
of real estate and other property of per-
manent nature which remains We have
known 6re-proof brick buildings, which
would be considered an ornament to any
city, to be sold for less than the first cost
of the iron doors which formed part of the
structure, and it is a notorious fact that in
some instances valuable bricks, the con-
struction of which had cost ten of thousands
of dollars, have been torn down and carted
away to get to work the mineral ground on
which they were built. Not only this
species of property has suffered, but valua-
BILE ranches, which were dependent upon
the miners for the sale of their products
have deprecated in value to almost moth
ing compared with former years, while
ditch and fuming enterprises which for
mery rated at high figures upon the assess
ment rolls, are totally abandoned and worth
/ less As the success of every business and
the value of every kind of permanent prop
erty was dependent upon successful mining,
when that failed, stagnation of business
and depreciation Of property unavoidably
followed.


! The lining counties were mostly organ
lied during the flush times" when the
mines we're filled with rough and lawless
spirits and crime was rife. The result Of
this was to entail heavy debts upon them,
which in some cases remain until the pres
ent time, necessitating heavy rates of taxa
ton to meet the expenses of county gov
ernments and pay the interest upon their
Indebtedness. These high taxes, combined
with the proverbial uncertainty Of mining
operations, tend to discourage capital from
seeking investment in the mines, while the
wealth produced among us is carried away
and invested in sections where no such dis
couraging circumstances exist. As logi-
cal consequence, the diminution of county
Indebtedness is but small compared with
those counties where the assessment roll
shows a steady increase from year to year,
with hope Of decreased taxation in the
future.


The legislature of 1868 recognized
these facts, and passed law giving to the
mining counties the States portion Of the
"Foreign Miners License Tax" This was
at once attended with the most beneficial
effects. In all the counties where this tax
was collected in any amount, marked rise
in the value of county script, and cores
ponding extinguishment of county indebt-
edness followed In the two years follow
ing the time from which the act in question
went into effect, the debt of Shasta county
decreased $500. while in the adjoining
county Of Trinity where there we're more
Chinese miners, a reduction of about 217,-
600 was effected. The Act Of Congress,
however, which practically repealed the
State laws, did away this source of revenue
for the mining counties, and they have
lost not only the portion of it recently
gran ed by the State, but also that portion
Of which they had been in receipt under the
original law We do not intend to discuss
the causes which led to the repe aling act
in question-we are simply speaking of facts
as they exist. As result of these facts,
the mining counties, Notwithstanding rigid
economy is practiced, are again piling up
debts-in this county the figures show an
increase of more than twelve hundred dol
| l.. r.. a.. CT r.or afto. tho oolloo,:or 81