STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 321 



you, my friends, that if we remain inert and fail to grasp the logic of 

 this new order of things, our prestige is gone — business must languish — 

 our prosperity deferred It is not necessary to dive into the severe logic 

 of political economists; Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill may be laid 

 on the shelf. Let capitalists begin at once, and spend in the next two 

 years as much in building up manufactures as they have in the past two 

 years in wild and fruitless speculations in mines, and, my word for it, 

 such an impetus to permanent prosperity would be given as to be wholly 

 without parallel in the history of the State. Reduce, as fast as prac- 

 ticable, the importations, and you will have enough gold to fill every 

 man's pocket ; every man who shall, by his industry, deserve it, will be 

 sure to have it. 



Wait and hope, and speculate as we may, I do not believe that real 

 and permanent prosperity will dawn upon us until we become, to a con- 

 siderable extent, a manufacturing as well as agricultural and mining- 

 State. We are at too great a distance from the principal grain markets 

 of the world to make our wheat take the place of gold, except in times 

 of famine or great scarcity abroad. 



According to The Commercial Herald and Market Rcvieiv, a paper pub- 

 lished in San Francisco, there were bound to that port, on the seventeenth 

 of this month, no less than one hundred and thirty-nine vessels. Of 

 these, thirty -four were from New York, seven from Boston, twenty-seven 

 from Liverpool, sixteen from Australia, etc. Now, what are these vessels 

 bringing to exchange for your gold ? The first thing I notice is five 

 hundred and seventy-five barrels of alcohol, because it begins with A. 

 But looking down the list I find six thousand six hundred and thirty-five 

 barrels of whiskey; or, reckoning each barrel at forty gallons, two 

 hundred and sixty-five thousand four hundred gallons; this at two dol- 

 lars per gallon (I believe the article rates at about that figure) amounts 

 to more than half a million of dollars. Do not imagine this is all the 

 whiskey consumed on this coast; by no means. This item of half a 

 million of dollars worth is simply what is on the way here at this par- 

 ticular time to make up the deficiency ; it has nothing to do with the 

 magnificent operations of manufacturing whiskey and brandy in Cali- 

 fornia. So much for that. Next are four thousand seven hundred 

 hogsheads of coal ; also, seven thousand two hundred and eighty-three 

 tons of the same. These are probably a necessity, like many other 

 things. But what about four thousand one hundred and seventy-three 

 packages of boots and shoes? Our hills and plains are covered with 

 cattle, and still hundreds of thousands of dollars must be sent away to 

 pay for boots and shoes. Gold is the only thing, as a rule, which they 

 will take in exchange. And what next? Fifty-four thousand four 

 hundred and seventeen boxes of candles ! In this land of verdure and 

 sunshine, where domestic animals live in winter as well as summer on 

 spontaneous pasture ; where the very clouds drop fatness all over the 

 land; can we not, ought we not, I ask, manufacture our own candles? 

 Next, thirteen thousand three hundred and forty-six boxes of soap ; 

 also, thirt}--eight thousand one hundred and seventy-three casks, kegs, 

 cases and packages of pickles, preserves, etc. But I cannot specify ; the 

 list is too threat. I am aware that the vessels brin<nn2; these things to 

 us will take away some wheat — four to eight millions of dollars worth 

 perhaps, during the entire year, provided they can get it at low figures, 

 so low as to be ruin to the producer. But it takes all our gold, besides, 



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