COMMERCE. 345 
There is such a presumption of the richness of its unexplored 
portions, that a man worth one hundred thousand dollars can 
be justified in venturing .an investment of fifty thousand dol- 
lars of it in New Almaden stock at the market price. Any 
piece of property having a steady market price, promises se- 
curity to justify the investment of money. This theory, there- 
fore, is not satisfactory; it explains nothing. 
A third theory adduced in explanation is the natural dis- 
honesty of men, and the peculiar facilities with which dishon- 
esty may be practised in gold mining. It is said that if a 
mine is found to be valuable, the resident shareholders keep 
the knowledge to themselves, levy heavy assessments upon 
remote partners or stockholders, and take care that no divi- 
dends shall be declared, by which policy all who do not know 
the mine are at last driven to sell, and usually at a sacrifice. 
The managers of the mine are, of course, either directly or 
indirectly the purchasers. This system of management is 
neither imaginary nor rare; it is familiarly known as “ freez- 
ing out,” and is not confined to gold mining, but extends to 
silver mines, and commercial corporations. In mining for gold, 
however, there are greater opportunities and more speedy re- 
wards for this kind of fraud than in any other kind of busi- 
ness ; but whether the frauds are more numerous or greater 
may well be doubted. Theft is another form in which dis- 
honesty is dangerous to the owners of valuable mines. In all 
those mining enterprises where considerable amounts of capi- 
tal are invested, numerous laborers must be hired; and in 
California most of these men are strangers to their employers, 
without family, permanent home, or any tie that can give se- 
curity for their good conduct. The great value of gold as 
compared with the space it occupies, gives the thief fine op- 
portunities for seizing and hiding it. Neither placer nor quartz 
mines are exempt from this danger. The laborer employed 
in deep hydraulic claims, or far from the daylight in shafts or 
drifts, cannot fail to see the large lumps or the rich portions 
of the auriferous rock. He has abundant means of hiding 
16 
