154 



COLOKADO. 



public waters of the State, during the months 

 of December, January, February, March, April, 

 May, and June, or in either of the said months 

 in any year ; and the possession of trout or 

 other food-fish during the months above men- 

 tioned shall be prima facie evidence of the 

 violation of the provisions of the act. A Fish 

 Commissioner is appointed under an act of the 

 previous Legislature. 



The act relative to the location and repre- 

 sentation of placer-mining claims provides that 

 " the discoverer of a placer claim shall within 

 thirty days from the date of discovery record 

 his claim in the office of the Recorder of the 

 county in which said claim is situated, by a lo- 

 cation certificate which shall contain first, the 

 name of the claim, designating it as a placer 

 claim ; second, the name of the locator ; third, 

 the date of the location ; fourth, the number of 

 acres or feet claimed ; fifth, a description of 

 the claim, by such reference to natural objects 

 or permanent monuments as shall identify the 

 claim. Before filing such location certificate 

 the discoverer shall locate his claim first, by 

 posting upon such claim a plain sign or notice, 

 containing the name of the claim, the name of 

 the locator, the date of discovery, and the num- 

 ber of feet or acres claimed ; second, by mark- 

 ing the surface boundaries with substantial 

 posts sunk in the ground, to wit, one at each 

 angle of the claim. 



" On each placer claim of 160 acres or more, 

 heretofore or hereafter located, and until a 

 patent has been issued therefor, not less than 

 $100 worth of labor shall be performed or im- 

 provements made by the first day of August, 

 1879, and by the first day of August of each 

 year thereafter. On all placer claims contain- 

 ing less than 160 acres the expenditure during 

 each year shall be such proportion of $100 as 

 the number of acres bears to 160. On all 

 placer claims containing less than twenty acres 

 the expenditure during each year shall not be 

 less than twelve dollars ; but when two or more 

 claims lie contiguous and are owned by the 

 same person, the expenditure hereby required 

 for each claim may be made on any one claim ; 

 and upon a failure to comply with these con- 

 ditions, the claim or claims upon which such 

 failure occurred shall be open to relocation as 

 if the claim had never been made ; provided, 

 that the original locators, their heirs, assigns, 

 or legal representatives, have not resumed work 

 upon the claim after failure and before such 

 location ; provided, the aforesaid expenditures 

 may be made in building or repairing ditches 

 to conduct water upon such grounds, or in 

 making other mining improvements necessary 

 to the working of such claim. Upon the fail- 

 ure of any one of several coowners to con- 

 tribute his share of the expenditures required 

 hereby, the coowners who have performed the 

 labor or made the improvements may, at the 

 expiration of the year to wit, the first day 

 of August, 1879 for the locations heretofore 

 made, and one year from the date of locations 



hereafter made, give such delinquent coowner 

 personal notice in writing, or, if he be a non- 

 resident of the State, a notice by publication 

 in the newspaper published nearest the claim, 

 for at least once a week for ninety days, and 

 mailing him a copy of such newspaper, if his 

 address be known ; and if, at the expiration of 

 ninety days after such notice in writing, or 

 after the first publication of such notice, such 

 delinquent should fail or refuse to contribute 

 his proportion of the expenditure required by 

 this action, his interest in the claim shall be- 

 come the property of his coowners who have 

 made the required expenditures." 



A large number of important acts of a local 

 nature were passed. 



The last reports of the Auditor and State 

 Treasurer show the State's indebtedness on 

 November 30, 1878, as follows : 



Warrants outstanding .$191,948 99 



Certificates of indebtedness issued 9,361 3t> 



Total debt $221,810 35 



Deduct cash iu treasury 68,145 S9 



$158,164 46 



Add interest on warrants 19,836 51 



Estimated interest on certificates indebtedness.. 1,500 00 

 Approved penitentiary vouchers outstanding No- 

 vember 80th 12,125 88 



Total $186,616 80 



Deduct amount of warrants outstand- 

 ing which will be met by special 



taxes now due $4,65 60 



Estimated amount of fines and penal- 

 ties, and receipts from sales of laws 



and fees of Secretary's office 10,OCO 00 



14,565 60 



Total outstanding debt $172,060 70 



The amount of revenue due for general purposes, 



including tax of 187f $247,619 58 



Deduct old delinquent tax 71,090 06 



Amount due to meet present debt $176,529 52 



It was estimated that at the close of the fis- 

 cal year 1879 the State would be out of debt. 

 The taxes of 1878 were expected to accomplish 

 that result, while those of 1879 would pay the 

 expenses of that year. State warrants at the 

 beginning of 1879 sold at one per cent, above 

 par, although two years previous they sold at 

 seventy-five cents on the dollar. 



The assessment of taxes has awakened some 

 consideration in the State, but a change was 

 made in the law at this session. It requires 

 that u all property shall be assessed at its full 

 cash value," and the duty of adjusting the 

 rates of assessment in the different counties 

 according to this standard devolves iipon the 

 State Board of Equalization. From the asses- 

 sors' returns there appear in one county five 

 times as many acres assessed in 1877 as in 1878, 

 and the average value per acre in 1877 one third 

 as much as in 1876 ; in another county one 

 half as much in 1878 as in 1877. Cattle are 

 returned at from $4 to $20 per head, horses 

 from $20 to $90, and other stock in the same 

 manner. The total assessment of all property 

 for 1878 is $43,072,648, nearly $400,000 less 

 than for 1877, while nearly all the items of 



