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Show 86 IMMIGRANTS' .AND SETTLERS' GUIDE settlers, not to speculators; in small quantities for culti .. ,, :-ttion, not to be gathered in masses for future sales. This policy will preserve the soil from detel'ioration, and it will give stability to the moving population, and, as a consequence, to the general business of California. Second, the lands claimed under grant not yet detern1ined. The unfortunate treaty stipulations which r ecognised the validity of these grants must be faithfully regarded ; but doubts should be resolved for the public w·clf~lre, and against individual aggrandizement. And w hate vet· of these lands are decided to belong to the United States, no special legislation by Congress should an·est the operations of the homestead policy. If its principles are ju~t and beneficial, they should be adhered to; if not, they should have no legal sanction anywhere. Third, the swamp lands owned by the State should be disposed of, not as those of most of the Western States have been, fOr the benefit of speculators, but for the complete fulfilment of the conditions of the o-rant and fot· actual settlement. These lands may co~1e sl~wly into eultivation, and until they do, it il:! far better that tbe State should retain the fee.simple than speculators. ~'ourth, The lands donated to the State tOr common sehool pU1·poses. These have been placed in market at $1.25 per acre, and, fi·om all that is disclosed in the Surveyol"-{~-eneral's repor~, are mostly purchased. How f:u· they will have gone Into the possession of actual settler·s cannot now be determined. Filth, Mining l~nds reserved from sale for mining purposes, but whwh are exhausted of their mineral wealth. It is stated that these amount to about ten ~~ill ions. of acres, and are susceptible of improvement for agncultural purposes, but especially for . fruits and the vme. They lie along the foot of the Nevada and ~~he1· mountains, having a most delightful climate. r.~~~e, too, should be surveyed and brought into cultivatwu under the conditions of the homestead law. For most truly does Mr. Hittel rema1·k: "It is one of the great evils of the tenant-at-will system, that there is TO THE NEW STATES AND TERRITORIES. 87 . . £ the investment of capitaL J.;an.rl httle secunty o: ock of wealth and the main basts should ?e the mau~ 8~. of its value with increasing of credi~, and the mme~~e of the main sources of riches populatwn should be .o but of this kind of property the in every ?e~ cou~try' rived b unwise policy." mining distncts ale :1 f calfornia lands not sold are Sixth, The great o yo mineral lands. The poliey those reserved from. sale as. t them from being ab-of the Government IS tohpl ~v e~ st policy for it favo rs 1 t ·s T 1s IS a J u ' sorbed bJ: specu a OI • d th 'velfare of these should the labormg classes,W~ th ~ the laborer is a miner or ever be r~g~rded. . . ehe e;hould not be subjected to a fanner IS unrnatertalf:, th )se lands are exhaustt d . 1' t But as ast as t . l tohfe t hcaepiri tna1 i1ns e.r a1s, they s h oul d be surveyed and d1sposet of to the actual s~ttler. ·a t. of the a <Yricultul·e of h. d COnSl era lOll o • }. From t IS r~pl ~ th· t the chief dancrer to It 1es · .. · · t \VIH be seen a. b d · 1 Cahforma, I • f its best farming t.m s m t Je in the accnmulation ? d the Mexlcan (.rrants. .{.' · rtetors un er ~ C) f' hands of a 1e\v P1 op h" .1 · 8 with the Legislature o The power to reinove t IS evi . I the State. EXTENT OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. of ublic lands surveyed The whole number Gof ac:els Lan~ Office for the fiscal d · d to the enet a · , · {~ 118 9 9 an ret~l ne 1862 was, in Cahfornta, 1 Ov, ·- year endmg June 30, 1 b surveyed and ret~ll'ne?, acres. 'fhere ha~e a soriv::: land-claims in Cal:forma for the sarne . peitod, p rrhe number of acres . S89 181.86 acres. amounting to '· . C l'fornia surveyed an<1. r e. . of private land-claimS ln a· a 1 Septelnber 30, 1862, was turned for the quarter en tng 194,869.66 ~cres. GOLD-MINING AND PRODUCT. . . 1 rsuit in California, as all The prominent I~dustrdta pt~ .Au1·i sacra j'arnes the world k nows,. IS gol .. mdin ir.n gr .m any yeurs :s.t m:e, the is still, as it was In 1850, an o |