SALE OF MINERAL LANDS. 4.11 



and his sons, and his sons' sons, in wealth, and which, if it wore 

 barren in gold, would still keep him in comfort with its agri- 

 cultural products. From the moment it is known that the 

 mineral lands will be sold, California's regeneration will begin. 

 Californians will then determine to make this their permanent 

 home ; money will be saved ; and at the time of sale, every 

 man will seek to become owner of a tract of mining land, 

 which shall enrich himself and his children. After the sale, 

 titles being secure, comfortable houses will be built, wives 

 will be sent for, mining will be conducted economically and 

 steadily, claims will be worked which now will not pay, our 

 population will increase, and so will the yield of our mines ; 

 the capital produced here will be retained ; other capital will 

 come from abroad, to obtain secure investment on safe titles ; 

 poor men, coming from abroad, will always obtain emphn^- 

 meut, and thus can get a start ; railroads and turnpikes will 

 be made ; land will rise in value ; the state will obtain its rev- 

 enue honorably by the taxation of capital ; society will be- 

 come permanent, and public opinion powerful ; dissipation will 

 diminish ; and California, instead of being socially the worst, 

 will become the best state in the Union. 



The question of the sale of the mineral lands is then the ques- 

 tion of the future of the state. The advocates of the measure 

 may not succeed this year, or the next; but they will, they 

 must, succeed finally. The fight is between the permanent 

 interest of California on one side, and, on the other, the tem- 

 porary interests of some roving miners, who care nothing for 

 tlie state, save to get its gold and then leave it. As for all the 

 unmarried Americans (whatever their occupation) who may 

 come hither to spend a few years — to carry away our gold if 

 they are successful, or to remain with us as human wrecks if 

 they fail — all these are no better for California than so many 

 Chinamen ; I call them " white Chinamen." They will not be- 

 come permanent citizens ; the yellow Chinamen cannot ; so 

 there is not much diflference between them. If there is any 

 legal, constitutional, and just measure by which we can drive 



