CALIFORNIA. 



CAPE COLONY. 



amount of gold should be added to the wealth of the 

 country if it can be done without injury to the navi- 

 gable rivers of the State and the adjacent lands. 



That it appears by said report that dams and other 

 restraining works may be erected in many of the 

 canons which will not only restrain the material pro- 

 ducing the damage complained of in the past, but 

 will also restrain the debris now dislodged but still 

 remaining in the canons. 



We respectfully ask that your honorable body ac- 

 cept and adopt the report of the commission appointed 

 by you for the purpose stated, and that Congress at 

 once take steps to put into practical and effective 

 operation the means suggested by the engineers, in 

 order that mining may be again resumed in the 

 manner indicated without the injury complained of 

 in the past. 



Your memorialists further suggest that Congress, 

 having appointed this commission to determine the 

 question, should accept and act upon its conclusions, 

 which are of a nature to be acceptable to both parties 

 to the controversy, in that they provide that mining 

 can be again carried on under the conditions named, 

 and also that the debris will be restrained from the 

 rivers and farming lands. 



It is proper to represent also that at four different 

 sessions of the Legislature of the State of California 

 resolutions have been adopted calling the attention 

 of Congress to this hydraulic-mining question in 

 California. At the last session the Governor, in his 

 inaugural address, brought the matter again to the 

 attention of the representatives of the people, and on 

 Dec. 29, 1890, the Legislature again passed resolutions, 

 which were forwarded to Congress, setting forth the 

 facts and asking for relief. 



We recognize the fact that until Congress takes 

 proper action for the erection of suitable works for 

 the restraining of mining debris, hydraulic mining is 

 absolutely restrained by the courts, and as law-abid- 

 ing citizens we recognize that the laws must be 

 obeyed and the decrees of the courts respected ; and 

 inasmuch as the complete cessation of hydraulic min- 

 ing, until congressional action is had, will be a great 

 hardship in the mining regions, and may result in 

 their depopulation, we earnestly request you to take 

 immediate action, in order that there may be an end 

 of conflict and that no complaint may exist of en- 

 joined mines refusing to observe the orders of court. 



We earnestly request you to make sufficient appro- 

 priations for the erection of dams or other restraining 

 works in accordance with the report of said com- 

 mission, under such restrictions as to locality, size, 

 and extent of dams as may by law be provided for 

 that purpose, in order that the debris resulting from 

 hydraulic mining may be restrained, as contemplated 

 in said reports, and that said restraining dams shall 

 be built in such rivers and streams, and at such places 

 therein as the needs of the mining industries and the 

 protection and preservation of farming and other re- 

 sources of the State may require, as may be recom- 

 mended by Government engineers, and that all such 

 dams shall be built and maintained by Government 

 appropriation. 



We also recommend the appropriation of the sums 

 recommended by the Government engineers for the 

 improvement of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and 

 Feather rivers, and Petaluma creek. The commercial 

 interests of the State of California and of the whole 

 nation imperatively demand that these appropriations 

 should be made. 



Your memorialists above respectfully represent that 

 the miners of the United States are dissatisfied with 

 many of the rulings of the departments which put 

 unnecessary burdens upon them and prevent them 

 from readily obtaining title to mineral lands, to the 

 great detriment of the mining interest, and we re- 

 spectfully ask that prompt congressional action be 

 taken upon the resolutions on this subject of the 

 mining laws and department rulings which were 

 adopted at the California State Mining Convention 

 held in San Francisco, Jan. 20, 1892. 



A State miner's association was formed, and 

 committees were appointed to present the me- 

 morial to Congress and to aid in securing the 

 legislation demanded. 



Political. On May 3 a Republican State con- 

 vention met at Stockton, and selected delegates 

 to the Minneapolis National Convention. Reso- 

 lutions were passed approving the administration 

 of President Harrison, demanding the passage of 

 laws securing the free and unlimited coinage of 

 the silver product of the United States, urging 

 Congress to take action to insure the early com- 

 pletion of the Nicaragua Canal and to secure its 

 control by the United States Government, and 

 insisting upon legislation prohibiting Chinese 

 immigration. The convention also expressed 

 itself in favor of carrying out the principles of 

 civil-service reform to the fullest extent. 



On May 17 the Democratic State Convention 

 met at Fresno and nominated delegates to the 

 Chicago National Convention. The platform 

 condemns the demonetization of silver, demands 

 an increase of the currency, denounces the Re- 

 publican apportionment of 1891 and the rail- 

 road commission, and demands that the next 

 Legislature introduce an amendment to the State 

 Constitution fixing maximum rates on railroads, 

 and abolishing the railroad commission. 



On July 26 another Republican State conven- 

 tion met at Sacramento for the purpose of nom- 

 inating two electors at large for the State. 

 Thomas R. Bard and Joseph C. Campbell were 

 selected. The platform adopted reaffirms the 

 principle of the Stockton convention of May 4, 

 adopts the Minneapolis platform, and concludes 

 as follows : 



That the Republican party of California has always 

 stood for the material development of the State, and, 

 believing that increased facilities of transportation by 

 water and by rail will conduce to that end, it demands 

 from the General Government the early completion, 

 under Government control, of the Nicaragua Canal 

 and the liberal expenditure of money to improve our 

 harbors and internal water ways, and it invites capital 

 to build into the State other competing transconti- 

 nental lines of railway, pledging protection and sup- 

 port to all instrumentalities existing and to exist that 

 may promote the general welfare arid give the people 

 the benefit of the law of competition. 



That the secretary of this convention be instructed 

 to telegraph our representatives in the Senate of the 

 United States urging the immediate passage of the 

 nuning bill now pending in that body. 



The convention then divided into seven dis- 

 trict conventions, for the purpose of choosing 

 district electors and congressmen. 



During July the People's party held a State 

 convention and placed an electoral and Congres- 

 sional ticket in the field. A similar ticket was 

 nominated by the Prohibitionists. 



At the November election the Democratic na- 

 tional ticket was successful (except as to one 

 elector) by 124 purality, and the Democrats 

 gained two congressmen. 



CANADA, DOMINION OF. See DOMINION 

 OF CANADA. 



CAPE COLONY AND SOUTH AFRICA. 

 The Cape of Good Hope is a British colony in 

 South Africa. The Governor is Sir Henry Loch, 

 the Premier Sir Cecil Rhodes. 



Area and Population. The area of the 

 colony and its dependencies is 221,311 square 



