320 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



case is one of commiseration; he is, indeed, a drone in the hive of 

 industry. But if one spark of genuine humanity is left in his bosom, 

 there is hope — hope that the spark may become ignited into a flame — 

 hope that he will resolve to add his mite to the sum of activity, which 

 carries the country forward in its career of prosperity, and annually 

 return to compete in the race of merit, where excellence alone should 

 win the prize. No man is so wise that he cannot learn ; none so high 

 as not to be dependent on his neighbors; none so rich that he cannot 

 be taught economy ; none so prosperous that he may not be benefited 

 by the knowledge and experience of other men ; none so humble that 

 he may not rise. 



It may be proper to allude to one or two obstacles to the completeness 

 of the exhibition the present year. The season for fruit has not been 

 favorable. In comparison with former years, grapes have been almost a 

 failure ; and the same may be said of most products of the orchard. 

 The failure has been both in quantity and quality of the fruit, owing, 

 doubtless, to the small amount of rain last winter and spring, and the 

 few days of unusually hot weather in July. Another effect or pecu- 

 liarity of the season has been : fruits ripened and disappeared a month 

 earlier than ever before, within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. 



I may be pardoned, perhaps, for making one more excuse and count- 

 ing it among the obstacles against which we have had to contend, and 

 that is, the stringency of the money market, which is without parallel. 

 The land is groaning with plenty, but amidst this abundance every man 

 feels poor. One thing is evident, there is no available and adequate 

 market for farm products. Look at your granaries, they are literally 

 bursting with the staff of life. Look at the banks of the Sacramento, 

 they are barricaded with grain awaiting shipment. There is, in this 

 state of affairs, no sufficient circulating medium. Importations carry 

 away all the gold and silver, and there is nothing left with which to 

 transact business. From what source are we to find relief? I do not 

 pretend to comprehend the intricacies of financial strategy by which a 

 few men rule the entire Pacific coast. One thiug is clear — a crisis is 

 upon us. The most apathetic must feel it. The year eighteen hundred 

 and sixty-nine has been made memorable by the completion of the great 

 transcontinental railway, and we are suddenly brought into more inti- 

 mate relations with the Atlantic States and Europe. The mystery and 

 romance of our isolation have been snatched away and we now stand 

 face to face with the world. 



In this changed condition of affairs, what is to be done? Fold our 

 arms and wait for something to turn up? 1 answer, by no means. To 

 me the solution of the problem seems not difficult ; but it may be more 

 readily said than done. We must compete, and competition means labor. 

 Look at the vast array of our importations. We must either go to 

 manufacturing or continue to export the precious metals. It now takes 

 all our gold and silver, as soon as they are dug from the ground, and 

 a considerable portion of our agricultural products, to pay for what we 

 consume and wear out, a very considerable proportion of which, suffi- 

 cient, in my judgment, to relieve this coast from the very embarrass- 

 ments we now suffer, can, and by every consideration of wise policy or 

 local pride, should be manufactured in this State. But I have no time 

 to enter into detail or speculation. Look at the vast — aye, unlimited 

 water power of the Pacific coast! Consider this mild and salubrious 

 climate! See the exhaustless fountain of cheap labor in China and 

 Japan. Cannot these advantages be made to avail us anything ? I tell 



